ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

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

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered ONE Gas from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $75.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.31.

ONE Gas Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of ONE Gas stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $74.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 628,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,648. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.72. ONE Gas has a 12 month low of $57.96 and a 12 month high of $78.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.19 and a 200 day moving average of $71.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 7.70%. The company had revenue of $630.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.58 million. Analysts predict that ONE Gas will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is an increase from ONE Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. ONE Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in ONE Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $3,135,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 113.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,688,000 after buying an additional 12,060 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in ONE Gas by 234.1% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 60,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,539,000 after purchasing an additional 42,724 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 758,378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,438,000 after purchasing an additional 18,889 shares during the period. 88.71% of the stock is owned by 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.