277,117 Shares in MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE Purchased by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 277,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,418,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MGEE. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in MGE Energy by 167.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MGE Energy by 718.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 75,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,973,000 after purchasing an additional 65,843 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 195,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,339,000 after buying an additional 60,037 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 181.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 80,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,798,000 after buying an additional 52,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 253.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 48,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,105,000 after buying an additional 34,980 shares during the period. 52.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MGE Energy Stock Up 3.8%

MGE Energy stock opened at $84.23 on Friday. MGE Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.16 and a 52 week high of $90.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $242.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.06 million. MGE Energy had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 10.94%. On average, analysts expect that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. MGE Energy’s payout ratio is presently 48.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MGEE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.50.

About MGE Energy

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.