OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.40.

A number of research firms have commented on OGE. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of OGE Energy from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of OGE Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of OGE Energy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:OGE opened at $43.77 on Thursday. OGE Energy has a 1 year low of $32.06 and a 1 year high of $43.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.62 and a 200-day moving average of $38.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.74.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.12 by ($0.03). OGE Energy had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 13.89%. The company had revenue of $965.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that OGE Energy will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OGE Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.4213 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This is a boost from OGE Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. OGE Energy’s payout ratio is 87.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OGE Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ClearBridge Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 5,829,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,103,000 after purchasing an additional 150,797 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,815,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,878,000 after acquiring an additional 139,872 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,197,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,453,000 after acquiring an additional 531,730 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 924,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,702,000 after acquiring an additional 50,390 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 3,834.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 748,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,708,000 after acquiring an additional 729,579 shares during the period. 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.