Morgan Stanley Cuts MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) Price Target to $74.00

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $74.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on MGEE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

MGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of MGEE opened at $78.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 0.71. MGE Energy has a 52 week low of $72.16 and a 52 week high of $88.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.14.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $161.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.37 million. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 19.45%. Equities analysts forecast that MGE Energy will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGE Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in MGE Energy by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 195,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,339,000 after purchasing an additional 60,037 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of MGE Energy by 369.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 40,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 31,795 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of MGE Energy by 193.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 21,663 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 67,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,225,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 27,266.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 20,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 20,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Company 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.