Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Acquires Shares of 277,117 MGE Energy Inc. $MGEE

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MGE Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 277,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,418,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.75% of MGE Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MGEE. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 921,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in MGE Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 511,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,048,000 after buying an additional 11,432 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in MGE Energy by 14.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 238,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,115,000 after buying an additional 29,811 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in MGE Energy by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 216,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,952,000 after buying an additional 18,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Price Performance

MGEE opened at $84.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 0.71. MGE Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.16 and a fifty-two week high of $90.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 18.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MGE Energy Inc. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MGE Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MGEE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded MGE Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of MGE Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MGE Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.50.

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.