Insider Buying: MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Director Buys $21,271.25 in Stock

MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) Director James Berbee bought 275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.35 per share, with a total value of $21,271.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 10,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,505.55. This trade represents a 2.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

MGE Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MGEE traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.37. 16,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,766. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79. MGE Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.16 and a 1 year high of $87.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.56.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $161.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.37 million. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 19.45%. Equities research analysts forecast that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5083 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from MGE Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. MGE Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $496,897,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 9,992.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,518,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,186 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 921,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,087,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in MGE Energy during the first quarter valued at about $21,418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MGEE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MGE Energy from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MGE Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.50.

About MGE Energy

MGE Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Through its principal subsidiary, Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE), the company provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in south-central Wisconsin. MGE Energy’s operations encompass the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the purchase and distribution of natural gas, with an emphasis on reliable service and system resilience.

Since reorganizing as a holding company in 2001, MGE Energy has expanded its portfolio to include nonregulated subsidiaries involved in renewable energy development, energy services and infrastructure support.