Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 31,877 Shares of OGE Energy Corporation $OGE

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) by 57.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,877 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in OGE Energy were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dean Capital Management lifted its stake in OGE Energy by 19.8% in the first quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 54,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after buying an additional 9,063 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of OGE Energy by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 272,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,088,000 after acquiring an additional 13,312 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of OGE Energy by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 337,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,177,000 after acquiring an additional 108,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of OGE Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on shares of OGE Energy from $42.50 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of OGE Energy from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of OGE Energy in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of OGE Energy from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of OGE Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.80.

OGE Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE OGE opened at $47.41 on Wednesday. OGE Energy Corporation has a one year low of $41.69 and a one year high of $50.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.17 and its 200-day moving average is $47.39.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. OGE Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 14.44%.The business had revenue of $711.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. OGE Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that OGE Energy Corporation will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. OGE Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider William H. Sultemeier sold 7,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.97, for a total transaction of $352,339.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 74,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,573,621.09. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

OGE Energy Profile

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) is an energy and infrastructure holding company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Through its principal subsidiary, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, the company provides regulated electric service to residential, commercial and industrial customers across Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Its diversified generation mix includes coal, natural gas and wind-powered facilities, complemented by ongoing investments in grid modernization and smart technology to enhance reliability and customer satisfaction.

In addition to its core electric utility operations, OGE Energy Corp.