T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 37,288 Shares of MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 859,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,288 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.35% of MGE Energy worth $79,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MGEE. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 9,697.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 456,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 451,591 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in MGE Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $20,910,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in MGE Energy by 49.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 208,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,423,000 after buying an additional 69,084 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in MGE Energy by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 106,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,017,000 after buying an additional 61,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its position in MGE Energy by 307.8% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 78,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,408,000 after buying an additional 59,510 shares in the last quarter. 52.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MGEE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of MGE Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MGE Energy from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MGE Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, MGE Energy has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James G. Berbee acquired 507 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $83.83 per share, with a total value of $42,501.81. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $530,560.07. This trade represents a 8.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGEE opened at $87.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.76. MGE Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.21 and a 1-year high of $109.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.27.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $159.45 million for the quarter. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 18.24%. Equities analysts predict that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from MGE Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

MGE Energy Company Profile

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.