ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Short Interest Update

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,900,000 shares, an increase of 48.6% from the January 15th total of 15,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days.

ONEOK Stock Performance

NYSE:OKE traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $99.02. 2,727,805 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,943,380. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $101.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.70. ONEOK has a fifty-two week low of $71.50 and a fifty-two week high of $118.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.81.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. This is a positive change from ONEOK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in ONEOK by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,985,000 after buying an additional 5,901 shares in the last quarter. Helium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $106,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC raised its position in shares of ONEOK by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 13,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 5,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded ONEOK from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays started coverage on ONEOK in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ONEOK to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.92.

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.