Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 410 Shares of MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of MGE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEE) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of MGE Energy worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MGEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of MGE Energy by 367.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MGE Energy by 88.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of MGE Energy by 507.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in MGE Energy by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in MGE Energy by 7,321.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MGE Energy

In related news, Director James G. Berbee purchased 446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $90.83 per share, for a total transaction of $40,510.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,451.56. The trade was a 4.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

MGE Energy Price Performance

MGEE opened at $91.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.94. MGE Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.27 and a 1 year high of $109.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83 and a beta of 0.72.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $171.42 million during the quarter. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 17.70%. As a group, analysts predict that MGE Energy, Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

MGE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. MGE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MGEE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MGE Energy from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of MGE Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th.

About MGE Energy

MGE Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company primarily in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity and natural gas in Wisconsin and Iowa; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services.