Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Stock Price

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 12.39% from the company’s current price.

Separately, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of MGE Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

MGE Energy Price Performance

MGEE stock opened at $91.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92 and a beta of 0.72. MGE Energy has a fifty-two week low of $72.27 and a fifty-two week high of $109.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.40.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $171.42 million during the quarter. MGE Energy had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 10.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that MGE Energy will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James G. Berbee acquired 446 shares of MGE Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $90.83 per share, with a total value of $40,510.18. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,451.56. The trade was a 4.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in MGE Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 3,445 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MGE Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,908,000 after buying an additional 8,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in MGE Energy by 62.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,027,000 after acquiring an additional 16,927 shares during the period. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGE Energy Company Profile

MGE Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company primarily in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity and natural gas in Wisconsin and Iowa; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services.