Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 68,130 Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 28.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 171,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 68,130 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.30% of ONE Gas worth $12,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of OGS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the first quarter valued at $575,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 341.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 27,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 9,456 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of ONE Gas by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 219,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,143,000 after buying an additional 21,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of ONE Gas by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 72,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,654,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on OGS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.10.

ONE Gas Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:OGS opened at $75.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.75. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.50 and a 1 year high of $76.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The business 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 earned $0.45 EPS. ONE Gas’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

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.