OGE Energy Corporation's OGE systematic capital investments to enhance safety, reliability and resiliency are likely to strengthen its infrastructure and boost its performance. Given its growth opportunities, OGE makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Let’s look at the factors that are driving the stock.
Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OGE’s 2024 and 2025 earnings per share is pegged at $2.13 and $2.25, respectively, indicating year-over-year growth of 2.9% and 5.5%.
The consensus estimate for 2024 and 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 29.5% and 3.2%, respectively.
The long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is pinned at 5%.
Dividend Yield
OGE Energy continues to reward its shareholders through dividend hikes. The company targets a dividend payout ratio of 65-70%. Its current dividend yield is 4.28%, which is better than the industry’s average yield of 3.52%.
Debt Position
OGE Energy’s debt to capital at the end of the second quarter, was 54.03%, compared with its industry average of 62.45%.
The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the second quarter was 2.9. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet interest obligations without difficulties.
Investments
OGE Energy aims to invest $6 billion during 2024-2028 to upgrade its infrastructure and provide seamless services to its customers. For 2024, OG&E has allocated $1.1 billion for investment.
With these capital investments, the company aims to maintain and improve the safety, resiliency and reliability of its distribution and transmission grid and generation fleet. It also expects to enhance its system’s capability to serve its growing customer base and perform during extreme weather events.
Price Performance
Shares of OGE have gained 7.9% in the past month compared with the industry’s 5.3% growth.
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Other Stocks to Consider
Other top-ranked stocks in the industry are TransAlta Corporation TAC, The AES Corporation AES and NiSource Inc. NI. Each of these stocks currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.
TransAlta Corporation has delivered an average earnings surprise of 98% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has increased 4.2% in the past 30 days.
AES Corporation has delivered an average earnings surprise of 19.2% in the last four quarters. The consensus estimate for earnings for 2024 and 2025 indicates year-over-year growth of 8.5% and 8.5%, respectively.
NiSource has delivered an average earnings surprise of 20.64% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for 2024 and 2025 indicates year-over-year growth of 7.5% and 6.8%, respectively.
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