Stifel Nicolaus Boosts ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Price Target to $74.00

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $73.00 to $74.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider's stock.

OGS has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of ONE Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.92.

ONE Gas Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of OGS stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.62. The stock had a trading volume of 455,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,492. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $74.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. ONE Gas has a 52-week low of $57.74 and a 52-week high of $78.89.

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 business had revenue of $340.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $287.48 million. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that ONE Gas will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. ONE Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OGS. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in ONE Gas by 22.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,470,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,283,000 after acquiring an additional 645,566 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in ONE Gas by 320.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 402,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,980,000 after buying an additional 306,974 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $293,590,000 after buying an additional 272,923 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in ONE Gas by 9,036.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 202,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,061,000 after acquiring an additional 200,168 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $12,594,000. Institutional investors own 88.71% of the company's stock.

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.