Empowered Funds LLC Takes $369,000 Position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OGS. Transcendent Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 266.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in ONE Gas by 3,620.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in ONE Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in ONE Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONE Gas Price Performance

ONE Gas stock opened at $72.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.42. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.74 and a 12 month high of $78.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.72.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $630.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.58 million. Equities analysts predict that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is an increase from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on OGS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America initiated 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.31.

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.