OGE Energy (OGE) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Drop Y/Y

OGE Energy Corp.’s (NYSE:OGE) fourth-quarter 2019 earnings of 18 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents by 38%. Moreover, the reported figure plunged 33.3% from 27 cents in the year-ago quarter. The downturn can be attributed to the asset impairment at Enable Midstream.

For 2019, the company reported earnings of $2.16 per share, which improved 1.9% from $2.12 in the prior year.

Revenues

OGE Energy’s operating revenues of $472.5 million dropped 7.7% from the prior-year quarter’s $511.8 million. The dip in revenues primarily resulted from lower revenues from contracts.

For 2019, the company generated operating revenues of $2,231.6 million, which also declined up 1.7% from the prior year’s $2,270.3 million.

Operational Highlights

Total sales in the reported quarter amounted to 6.7 million megawatt-hours (MWh) compared with 6.8 million MWh in the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the company’s customer count inched up approximately 1% to 857,754.

Cost of sales summed $161.6 million during the fourth quarter compared with $228.9 million in the prior-year quarter.

Total operating expenses rose 7% year over year to $240.6 million on account of higher operation and maintenance expenses, depreciation and amortization expenses along with higher taxes (other than income).

The company’s operating income grew 21.2% in the fourth quarter to $70.3 million from the year-ago quarter’s $58 million.

Interest expenses totaled $37.8 million in the fourth quarter, in line with the year-ago quarter’s figure.

OGE Energy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Other Highlights of the Release

OGE Energy reported a net income of $433.6 million in 2019, down from the prior year’s $425.5 million.

OG&E: The segment’s net income rose 6.7% to $350 million in 2019 from $328 million in 2018.

Natural Gas Midstream Operations: The segment posted a net income of $81 million in 2019 compared with $109 million in the previous year.

2020 Guidance

OGE Energy expects 2020 earnings in the range of $2.19-$2.31 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings is pegged at $2.28, toward the high end of the company’s guidance.

Zacks Rank

OGE Energy carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Recent Utility Releases

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) , a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company, reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents, considerably up 70% from the year-ago quarter’s 40 cents. The bottom line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 69 cents. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) , a Zacks Rank #3 company, posted adjusted earnings of $1.44 per share for the December-end quarter, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54 by 6.5%.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) , a Zacks Rank #3 company, delivered operating earnings of $1.18 per share for the final quarter of 2019, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 by 1.7%.

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