ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.73.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OKE shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of ONEOK from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Insider Activity at ONEOK

In other ONEOK news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.25 per share, with a total value of $203,175.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ONEOK

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Command Bank grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 401.0% during the second quarter. First Command Bank now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 97.7% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 437 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ONEOK Price Performance

NYSE:OKE traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.17. 3,070,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,057,266. The company has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.65. ONEOK has a one year low of $55.91 and a one year high of $80.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 22.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that ONEOK will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 29th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. This is a positive change from ONEOK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

ONEOK announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 17th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

ONEOK Company Profile

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.