OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays downgraded OGE Energy from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded OGE Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of OGE Energy from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $33.40.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:OGE opened at $33.93 on Tuesday. OGE Energy has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $38.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.06.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.67 million. OGE Energy had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 9.37%. OGE Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that OGE Energy will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.418 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. OGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Cristina F. Mcquistion sold 4,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $142,023.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,409.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OGE Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in OGE Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $128,381,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of OGE Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,274,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in OGE Energy by 1,219.3% in the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 769,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,863,000 after acquiring an additional 710,761 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in OGE Energy by 3,716.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 728,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,435,000 after acquiring an additional 709,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in OGE Energy by 28.6% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 3,083,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,772,000 after acquiring an additional 686,174 shares in the last quarter. 71.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About OGE Energy

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services provider in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. In addition, it provides retail electric service to approximately 896,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets.