ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.58.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OKE. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of ONEOK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

ONEOK Price Performance

NYSE OKE opened at $80.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.71 and its 200 day moving average is $73.46. ONEOK has a fifty-two week low of $56.19 and a fifty-two week high of $83.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $47.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.64.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. ONEOK had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that ONEOK will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.09%.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In other ONEOK news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith acquired 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.25 per share, with a total value of $203,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OKE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in ONEOK by 10.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,237,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,757,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,010 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,948,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in ONEOK by 37.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,292,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $843,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,660 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 3,478.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 3,578,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,973,000 after buying an additional 3,478,316 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in ONEOK by 65.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,132,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,229,046 shares in the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONEOK Company Profile

ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude.