OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to “Outperform” Rating

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $47.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $40.00.

Separately, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of OGE Energy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

OGE Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

OGE Energy stock opened at $43.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.77. OGE Energy has a 1 year low of $32.06 and a 1 year high of $44.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.86.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.03). OGE Energy had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 13.89%. The company had revenue of $965.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that OGE Energy will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.4213 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. OGE Energy’s payout ratio is presently 87.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Cristina F. Mcquistion sold 5,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $214,542.72. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,918 shares in the company, valued at $896,127.12. The trade was a 19.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of OGE Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in OGE Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in OGE Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in OGE Energy by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in OGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in OGE Energy by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 95,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 43,529 shares in the last quarter. 71.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.