Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 259.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,161 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC owned about 0.07% of MGE Energy worth $1,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in MGE Energy by 160.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 14,579 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in MGE Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,628,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in MGE Energy by 84.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 31,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,786,000 after acquiring an additional 14,415 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 84,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,130,000 after buying an additional 27,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 97,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,209,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MGE Energy

In other news, Director James G. Berbee acquired 373 shares of MGE Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.74 per share, for a total transaction of $28,997.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $727,801.88. This trade represents a 4.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MGE Energy from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MGE Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $80.50.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

MGE Energy stock opened at $78.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.65 and a 200-day moving average of $80.30. MGE Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.17 and a 52 week high of $94.00.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The company had revenue of $189.55 million during the quarter. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 18.27%. On average, analysts expect that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGE Energy Company Profile

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.