ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 28,784,189 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the January 15th total of 23,204,148 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,363,763 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 5,363,763 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE stock traded up $0.55 on Wednesday, hitting $86.16. 1,358,965 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,496,398. The firm has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.44. ONEOK has a 52 week low of $64.02 and a 52 week high of $103.64.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $1.07 dividend. This is a boost from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OKE. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in ONEOK by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in ONEOK by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in ONEOK by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 11,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 5.1% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 722,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,902,000 after acquiring an additional 35,359 shares during the period. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OKE has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on ONEOK from $114.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.80.

ONEOK Company Profile

ONEOK, Inc (NYSE: OKE) is a publicly traded midstream energy company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company owns and operates a portfolio of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines, processing facilities, fractionators and storage and terminal assets. Its operations are focused on gathering, processing, transporting, fractionating and marketing NGLs and interstate natural gas, providing critical infrastructure that connects hydrocarbon production to refineries, petrochemical plants and other end markets.

ONEOK’s asset base includes pipeline systems and processing plants that move and condition natural gas, along with infrastructure for the transportation, storage and fractionation of NGLs such as ethane, propane and butane.