MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $89.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.23% from the stock’s current price.

According to Zacks, “MGE Energy is a public utility holding company. Its principal subsidiary, MGE, generates and distributes electricity to more than 128,000 customers in Dane County, Wisconsin (250 square miles) and purchases, transports and distributes natural gas to nearly 123,000 customers in seven south-central and western Wisconsin counties (1,375 square miles). (Press Release) “

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised MGE Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on MGE Energy from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on MGE Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Shares of NASDAQ:MGEE opened at $79.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.66. MGE Energy has a 52 week low of $69.23 and a 52 week high of $84.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.80 and a 200 day moving average of $77.89.

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $208.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.00 million. MGE Energy had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 16.25%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MGE Energy will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGEE. UMB Bank N A MO purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in MGE Energy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MGE Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $127,000. 50.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MGE Energy (Get Rating)

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

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