Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 129,923 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. $OKE

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 55.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 103,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 129,923 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $9,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the fourth quarter valued at $586,500,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in ONEOK during the 4th quarter worth about $564,867,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in ONEOK by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 64,537,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,610,887,000 after acquiring an additional 5,148,768 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in ONEOK during the 2nd quarter worth about $389,985,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in ONEOK in the 2nd quarter valued at about $335,958,000. Institutional investors own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OKE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ONEOK from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on ONEOK from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised ONEOK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on ONEOK from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.81.

Key ONEOK News

Here are the key news stories impacting ONEOK this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Permian Basin expansion: ONEOK agreed to acquire Brazos Midstream’s natural-gas gathering and processing assets for approximately $4.425 billion in cash. The transaction expands ONEOK’s Midland Basin footprint and should increase exposure to production growth in the Permian. ONEOK to Grow Midland Midstream Footprint with Brazos Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Funding includes debt reduction: Apollo is providing a $9 billion nonvoting minority equity investment. ONEOK plans to use roughly $5 billion of the proceeds to reduce existing debt, which could help offset the acquisition’s leverage impact and improve financial flexibility. ONEOK Doubles Down on the Permian with $4.43 Billion Brazos Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings backdrop: ONEOK recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.53 versus the $1.46 consensus estimate, while revenue also surpassed forecasts. The earnings beat and favorable midstream industry outlook have helped support upward share-price momentum. Why Is Oneok Up 9.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst view: JPMorgan raised its price target from $95 to $106 but maintained a neutral rating, while Scotiabank reaffirmed its hold rating. Other analyst commentary also describes sentiment toward ONEOK as divided, suggesting limited consensus on near-term upside. Scotiabank Reaffirms Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and leverage risks: The sizable Brazos purchase increases integration and capital-allocation demands. Although Apollo’s investment will fund debt reduction, investors may remain concerned about transaction execution, balance-sheet leverage and the potential effect of issuing minority equity.

ONEOK Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE OKE opened at $96.08 on Thursday. ONEOK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.02 and a fifty-two week high of $99.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.00.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $12.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 16.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. ONEOK has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.680-5.680 EPS. On average, analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.79%.

ONEOK 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.