ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on OGS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut ONE Gas from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $75.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ONE Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.69.

ONE Gas Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:OGS traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.21. 303,714 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 343,723. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business's 50-day moving average price is $72.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.44. ONE Gas has a 1 year low of $57.74 and a 1 year high of $78.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.71.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $340.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.48 million. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Analysts predict that ONE Gas will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. ONE Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OGS. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,373,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in ONE Gas by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in ONE Gas during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,135,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 4.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 701,933 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,785,000 after purchasing an additional 31,045 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. 88.71% of the stock is currently 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.