Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Raises Stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 51.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,849 shares during the period. ONEOK accounts for about 2.1% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s holdings in ONEOK were worth $5,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Quarterback LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 19,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in ONEOK by 78.7% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 584,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,023,000 after purchasing an additional 257,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 65.9% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 20,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,991,000 after acquiring an additional 7,969 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

ONEOK Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ONEOK stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.84. 3,029,510 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,491,123. The company has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.06. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.48 and a 52 week high of $118.07.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). ONEOK had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of ONEOK from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of ONEOK from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of ONEOK from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 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. According to data from MarketBeat, ONEOK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.53.

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.