ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.44.

OGS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

ONE Gas Price Performance

Shares of OGS stock opened at $74.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $72.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.35. ONE Gas has a fifty-two week low of $58.31 and a fifty-two week high of $78.89.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $630.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.58 million. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ONE Gas will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Institutional Trading of ONE Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 184,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,808,000 after purchasing an additional 12,593 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 4th quarter worth $1,301,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 23,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

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.