Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys New Position in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 29,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,434,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MGEE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $496,897,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $72,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,087,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,418,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 238,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,115,000 after purchasing an additional 29,811 shares in the last quarter. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MGE Energy Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:MGEE opened at $78.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. MGE Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.16 and a 1-year high of $87.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.80.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $161.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.37 million. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 19.45%. Sell-side analysts forecast that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.5083 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from MGE Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. MGE Energy’s payout ratio is 46.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MGEE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MGE Energy from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.