OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Barclays

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on OGE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of OGE Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on OGE Energy from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of OGE Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Argus reissued a “buy” rating on shares of OGE Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on OGE Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.36.

OGE Energy Price Performance

OGE stock opened at $46.69 on Monday. OGE Energy has a 12 month low of $41.69 and a 12 month high of $50.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.39. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.50.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. OGE Energy had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $711.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that OGE Energy will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at OGE Energy

In other OGE Energy news, SVP Donnie Jones sold 6,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.11, for a total value of $300,083.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,991.05. This represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OGE Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of OGE Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,277,554,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in OGE Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $102,382,000. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new position in OGE Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $99,016,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in OGE Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $56,300,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in OGE Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $45,974,000. 71.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OGE Energy

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) is an energy holding company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its principal subsidiary, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E), is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

OG&E serves customers across Oklahoma and in western Arkansas. Its operations include a diverse generation fleet and the infrastructure needed to deliver electricity, including transmission and distribution networks, customer service programs and energy-efficiency offerings.