ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) Price Target Increased to $88.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $81.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.18% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wolfe Research upgraded ONEOK from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised ONEOK from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, US Capital Advisors lowered ONEOK from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.25.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.07. The stock had a trading volume of 3,633,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,409. The company's 50-day moving average is $76.17 and its 200 day moving average is $70.81. ONEOK has a 12-month low of $55.91 and a 12-month high of $80.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.65.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that ONEOK will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $75.25 per share, with a total value of $203,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,175. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 275.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 2,091 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 500.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 167,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,812,000 after buying an additional 139,379 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 161,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,422,000 after buying an additional 27,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 1st quarter worth approximately $614,000. Institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

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.