Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 5,626 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,780 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in ONEOK were worth $22,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter valued at $346,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of ONEOK by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 54,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,967,000 after purchasing an additional 11,898 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 129.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 788,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,874,000 after purchasing an additional 444,559 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 54.8% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,083,000 after buying an additional 8,091 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 199.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 697,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,605,000 after buying an additional 465,243 shares during the period. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on OKE. Citigroup began coverage on ONEOK in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of ONEOK from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of ONEOK from $109.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of ONEOK from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on ONEOK from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.00.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OKE traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.44. 3,777,706 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,159,477. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.20. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.48 and a 12 month high of $118.07. The company's 50 day moving average price is $94.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.59.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.18 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 16.84%. As a group, analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. This is a positive change from ONEOK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is 79.69%.

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.