Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of ONE Gas worth $12,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the third quarter valued at about $3,135,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in ONE Gas by 113.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 12,060 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in ONE Gas by 234.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 42,724 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in ONE Gas by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 758,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,438,000 after buying an additional 18,889 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONE Gas Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:OGS opened at $74.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.31 and a 12-month high of $78.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.72.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 7.70%. The firm had revenue of $630.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.58 million. As a group, analysts forecast that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.