ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) Short Interest Up 60.3% in May

ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, an increase of 60.3% from the April 30th total of 3,150,000 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 572,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.8 days.

ONE Gas Price Performance

Shares of OGS stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.62. The stock had a trading volume of 907,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,852. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.37. ONE Gas has a one year low of $59.74 and a one year high of $82.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $75.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.47.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $935.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.31 million. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 7.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that ONE Gas will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. ONE Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on OGS. Jefferies Financial Group raised ONE Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on ONE Gas from $74.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of ONE Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.81.

Institutional Trading of ONE Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of ONE Gas by 105.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,859,000 after acquiring an additional 54,237 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in ONE Gas by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in ONE Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,058,507 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,302,000 after buying an additional 9,302 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ONE Gas

ONE Gas, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a regulated natural gas distribution company in the United States. The company provides natural gas distribution services to approximately 2.3 million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. It serves residential, commercial, and transportation customers.