OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of OGE Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of OGE Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of OGE Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of OGE Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of OGE Energy in a research report on Friday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company.

OGE Energy Price Performance

OGE stock opened at $46.01 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.48. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. OGE Energy has a 52-week low of $41.69 and a 52-week high of $50.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.78.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. OGE Energy had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $725.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that OGE Energy will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. OGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at OGE Energy

In other news, CAO Sarah R. Stafford sold 6,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.77, for a total transaction of $292,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 28,559 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,263.43. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lyle G. Ganske acquired 10,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $47.99 per share, with a total value of $500,055.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $500,055.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OGE Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,500,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $918,079,000 after purchasing an additional 304,080 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,713,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,685,000 after purchasing an additional 117,977 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,279,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,530,000 after purchasing an additional 31,138 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,240,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,473,000 after purchasing an additional 479,278 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in OGE Energy by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,628,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $197,625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,574 shares during the period. 71.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About OGE Energy

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) is an energy and infrastructure holding company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Through its principal subsidiary, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, the company provides regulated electric service to residential, commercial and industrial customers across Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Its diversified generation mix includes coal, natural gas and wind-powered facilities, complemented by ongoing investments in grid modernization and smart technology to enhance reliability and customer satisfaction.

In addition to its core electric utility operations, OGE Energy Corp.