Morgan Stanley Boosts ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Price Target to $69.00

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $69.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of ONE Gas from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ONE Gas from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $66.21.

ONE Gas Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:OGS opened at $74.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.26. ONE Gas has a 1 year low of $55.50 and a 1 year high of $74.99.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $354.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.06 million. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 10.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ONE Gas will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in ONE Gas by 6.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,598,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,590,000 after purchasing an additional 272,923 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,555,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,098,000 after acquiring an additional 52,740 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 0.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,470,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,873,000 after acquiring an additional 10,189 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,108,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,657,000 after acquiring an additional 147,471 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 52.9% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,058,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,317,000 after acquiring an additional 366,363 shares during the period. 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.