Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $15.44 Million Investment in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 189,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,443,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in MGE Energy by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in MGE Energy by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of MGEE opened at $78.15 on Monday. MGE Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.16 and a 1 year high of $87.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.71.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. MGE Energy had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $161.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.37 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MGEE. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on MGE Energy from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

MGE Energy 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.