Stifel Financial Corp Grows Stock Position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of ONE Gas by 320.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 402,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,980,000 after purchasing an additional 306,974 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position 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 worth $293,590,000 after buying an additional 272,923 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the second quarter worth $12,594,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 10.4% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,082,000 after acquiring an additional 98,489 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONE Gas Price Performance

OGS stock opened at $69.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.80. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.74 and a 12-month high of $78.89.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last issued its 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). ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 10.52%. The firm had revenue of $340.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America began coverage on ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.69.

ONE Gas 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.