ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Trading Up 2.2% – What’s Next?

ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)’s share price was up 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $75.29 and last traded at $75.35. Approximately 86,624 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 375,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on OGS shares. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

ONE Gas Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.64.

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

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in ONE Gas by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 184,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,808,000 after purchasing an additional 12,593 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ONE Gas in the 4th quarter worth $1,301,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in ONE Gas by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 23,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in ONE Gas in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. 88.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ONE Gas

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.