Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Stock

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ONE Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on shares of ONE Gas and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of ONE Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ONE Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.44.

ONE Gas Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of OGS stock traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.04. 2,829,550 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,181. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $75.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.33. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.86. ONE Gas has a fifty-two week low of $58.31 and a fifty-two week high of $82.25.

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

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. ONE Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.73%.

Institutional Trading of ONE Gas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OGS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,417,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $485,136,000 after purchasing an additional 147,186 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in ONE Gas by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,124,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $147,152,000 after buying an additional 25,145 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $73,302,000 after buying an additional 9,302 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ONE Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,965 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,824,000 after buying an additional 15,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 864,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,849,000 after acquiring an additional 152,028 shares during the period. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONE Gas Company Profile

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.