Freedom Broker Upgrades MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) to Buy

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Broker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $87.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $79.00. Freedom Broker‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.40% from the stock’s current price.

MGEE has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MGE Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on MGE Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised MGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $87.00 target price on MGE Energy in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MGE Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.83.

MGE Energy Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MGEE opened at $80.26 on Friday. MGE Energy has a one year low of $68.01 and a one year high of $85.29. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.52.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $190.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.59 million. MGE Energy had a net margin of 20.60% and a return on equity of 11.59%. Research analysts forecast that MGE Energy will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGE Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGEE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in MGE Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $496,897,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of MGE Energy during the second quarter valued at about $27,087,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of MGE Energy in the second quarter worth about $15,443,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 178,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 34.2% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 123,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,602,000 after acquiring an additional 31,572 shares during the period. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MGE Energy Company Profile

MGE Energy, Inc is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Its principal subsidiary, Madison Gas and Electric Company (MG&E), provides electric and natural gas service to customers in Madison and surrounding communities in south-central Wisconsin.

MG&E generates, purchases, transmits and distributes electricity, while also distributing natural gas. The company serves residential, commercial and industrial customers and offers related energy services, including programs focused on energy efficiency, electrification and renewable energy.

Madison Gas and Electric traces its history to 1855, and MGE Energy was established as the parent company of the utility in 1999.