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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of ONE Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $75.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ONE Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.69.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

ONE Gas stock opened at $69.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.94 and a 200-day moving average of $70.16. ONE Gas has a 1-year low of $57.74 and a 1-year high of $78.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NYSE:OGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $340.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. ONE Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that ONE Gas will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,135,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 4.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in ONE Gas during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $422,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake 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 valued at $4,539,000 after acquiring an additional 42,724 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.