Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases 35,529 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 85.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,529 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in ONEOK were worth $5,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of OKE. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in ONEOK during the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Command Bank raised its stake in ONEOK by 401.0% during the second quarter. First Command Bank now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in ONEOK by 97.7% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 437 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ONEOK by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on OKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research raised ONEOK from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Raymond James upped their price objective on ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, US Capital Advisors downgraded ONEOK from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $203,175. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

ONEOK Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ONEOK stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $79.66. 1,977,982 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,045,280. The company has a market capitalization of $46.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.65. ONEOK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.91 and a 52 week high of $80.81. The firm's 50-day moving average is $74.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.02. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. This is a boost from ONEOK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 29th. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.35%.

ONEOK announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the utilities provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management 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.

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