Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in ONEOK, Inc. by 29.7%, now owning 159,902 shares valued at approximately $15.86 million after selling 67,612 shares in the first quarter.
• ONEOK has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share to be paid on August 14th, reflecting a 5.2% yield and an annualized payout of $4.12.
• Recent analyst ratings for ONEOK indicate an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with a price target of $104.57, showcasing a mix of buy and hold recommendations from various brokerages.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 67,612 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in ONEOK were worth $15,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of ONEOK by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,142,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 3.9% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 289,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,774,000 after acquiring an additional 10,957 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in ONEOK by 146.9% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 18,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 10,728 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 340,480 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,184,000 after purchasing an additional 19,199 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on OKE shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ONEOK in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ONEOK from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on ONEOK from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ONEOK currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.57.

ONEOK Trading Up 0.3%

OKE traded up $0.22 on Thursday, hitting $75.45. The company had a trading volume of 3,414,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,995,157. The company's fifty day moving average price is $81.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.12. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.23 and a 1 year high of $118.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $47.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.99.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.20 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is 80.31%.

About ONEOK

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.