Susquehanna International Group LLP Lowers Stock Position in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Susquehanna International Group LLP cut its stake in shares of MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 81.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,536 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP’s holdings in MGE Energy were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in MGE Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $496,897,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $27,087,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in shares of MGE Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $21,418,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of MGE Energy in the second quarter worth $15,443,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 167.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 162,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,655,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares in the last quarter. 52.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGE Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGEE opened at $77.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.77. MGE Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.16 and a fifty-two week high of $87.94. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $166.37 million. MGE Energy had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 11.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGE Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.5083 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from MGE Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. MGE Energy’s payout ratio is presently 46.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.