Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Buys Shares of 14,274 OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,274 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of OGE Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,836,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $280,425,000 after acquiring an additional 185,069 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its stake in OGE Energy by 2.7% in the second 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in OGE Energy by 31.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,197,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $78,453,000 after purchasing an additional 531,730 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of OGE Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,339,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,960,000 after buying an additional 4,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of OGE Energy by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,318,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,087,000 after buying an additional 265,115 shares in the last quarter. 71.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OGE Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:OGE traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.30. 816,356 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,159. OGE Energy Corp. has a 1-year low of $32.06 and a 1-year high of $44.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.70 and a 200 day moving average of $39.14.

OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $965.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. OGE Energy had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 13.89%. OGE Energy's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that OGE Energy Corp. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

OGE Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.4213 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. OGE Energy's payout ratio is currently 87.05%.

Insider Transactions at OGE Energy

In other news, VP Cristina F. Mcquistion sold 5,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $214,542.72. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,918 shares in the company, valued at $896,127.12. The trade was a 19.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of OGE Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on OGE Energy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.50.

OGE Energy Profile

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.