ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) PT Raised to $85.00 at Morgan Stanley

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $84.00 to $85.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on OKE. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of ONEOK from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of ONEOK from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $81.73.

ONEOK Price Performance

NYSE OKE opened at $80.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.49. 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 has a 12-month low of $55.91 and a 12-month high of $80.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.65.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last released 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). ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that ONEOK will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ONEOK news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith acquired 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ONEOK

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Command Bank grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 401.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Command Bank now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

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.