MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MGE Energy were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MGE Energy during the third quarter worth $11,765,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in MGE Energy by 345.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 62,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after purchasing an additional 48,330 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in MGE Energy by 569.6% during the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 45,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,283,000 after purchasing an additional 38,776 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in MGE Energy by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 16,927 shares during the period. Finally, Park Capital Management LLC WI purchased a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,259,000. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MGE Energy news, Director James G. Berbee purchased 446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $90.83 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 4.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MGE Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MGE Energy stock opened at $92.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.72. MGE Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.27 and a 12-month high of $109.22.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). MGE Energy had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $171.42 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that MGE Energy, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGE Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MGE Energy from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised MGE Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

About MGE Energy

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.