Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Stock Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,541 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 32,821 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in ONEOK were worth $15,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OKE. Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ONEOK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in ONEOK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

ONEOK Price Performance

OKE traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.25. 7,502,414 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,407,210. The company has a market cap of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.12. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.48 and a 12-month high of $118.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.67.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.23 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 15.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on ONEOK from $111.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on ONEOK from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of ONEOK from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.69.

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.