Earnest Partners LLC Invests $12.59 Million in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 197,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,594,000. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.35% of ONE Gas as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OGS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ONE Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $30,395,000. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,058,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,317,000 after purchasing an additional 366,363 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 6.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,598,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,590,000 after buying an additional 272,923 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,939,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,108,868 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,657,000 after buying an additional 147,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of ONE Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised ONE Gas from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on ONE Gas from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

ONE Gas Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:OGS traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.20. 335,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,508. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $69.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.66. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.50 and a 12-month high of $74.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.41.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.01). ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The business had revenue of $354.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $362.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. The business's revenue was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. ONE Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

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.