Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 11,023 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OKE. Greenline Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONEOK Stock Up 2.0%

OKE traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $82.44. 4,111,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,307,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average price is $84.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.00. The company has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.01. ONEOK, Inc. has a one year low of $75.48 and a one year high of $118.07.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.24). ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. ONEOK's payout ratio is presently 80.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OKE shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on ONEOK from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on ONEOK from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on ONEOK from $111.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on ONEOK from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.69.

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.