Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 464,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 202,860 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of OGE Energy worth $19,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of OGE. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in OGE Energy in the second quarter worth $619,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in OGE Energy by 6.2% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 391,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,960,000 after acquiring an additional 22,899 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of OGE Energy in the first quarter worth about $640,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in OGE Energy by 235.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 40,710 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in OGE Energy in the first quarter worth about $509,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of OGE Energy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of OGE Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of OGE Energy from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.40.

Insider Activity at OGE Energy

In other news, VP Cristina F. Mcquistion sold 5,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $214,542.72. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,127.12. This trade represents a 19.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

Shares of OGE Energy stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,163,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,301,359. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.37. OGE Energy Corp. has a 12-month low of $32.06 and a 12-month high of $44.09.

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

OGE Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were given a $0.4213 dividend. This is a positive change from OGE Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. OGE Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.05%.

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.