First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 446,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,072 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.22% of MGE Energy worth $34,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in MGE Energy by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in MGE Energy in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in MGE Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in MGE Energy by 28.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. 52.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGE Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ MGEE opened at $81.61 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.63 and its 200 day moving average is $78.63. MGE Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.16 and a fifty-two week high of $88.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93 and a beta of 0.71.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.19. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 18.61%.The business had revenue of $242.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.06 million. Sell-side analysts predict that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

MGE Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MGEE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.50.

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.