ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 383,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,501 shares during the period. ONEOK accounts for approximately 2.0% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.07% of ONEOK worth $26,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fruth Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 22,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 400.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the last quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 4th quarter worth about $370,000. Finally, Accel Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,175. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on ONEOK from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised ONEOK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.73.

ONEOK Stock Performance

NYSE OKE traded up $0.57 on Friday, reaching $80.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,070,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,958,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.90. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.91 and a 12-month high of $80.53. The business's 50-day moving average price is $73.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.68. The stock has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.65.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 22.57%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 17th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th were issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 71.35%.

ONEOK 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.