OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.33 and last traded at $44.21, with a volume of 179679 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on OGE shares. Barclays raised their price objective on OGE Energy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on OGE Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of OGE Energy from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.40.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.12 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $965.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. OGE Energy had a net margin of 13.89% and a return on equity of 8.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that OGE Energy Corp. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

OGE Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.4213 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This is an increase from OGE Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. OGE Energy’s payout ratio is 87.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Cristina F. Mcquistion sold 5,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $214,542.72. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,918 shares in the company, valued at $896,127.12. This trade represents a 19.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OGE Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OGE Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $619,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in OGE Energy by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 391,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,960,000 after purchasing an additional 22,899 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 235.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 40,710 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 207.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 22,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 15,017 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in OGE Energy by 147.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 205,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,064,000 after buying an additional 122,750 shares in the last quarter. 71.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About OGE Energy

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services provider in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. In addition, it provides retail electric service to approximately 896,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets.