Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 60.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 828,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 310,377 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $83,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in ONEOK by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 23,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter worth $346,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in ONEOK by 3.2% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 301,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,503,000 after purchasing an additional 9,281 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in ONEOK in the third quarter valued at about $158,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in ONEOK by 27.9% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 54,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,967,000 after purchasing an additional 11,898 shares in the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OKE opened at $80.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.26. The stock has a market cap of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.23 and a 12 month high of $118.07.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 16.84%. As a group, analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. This is a positive change from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OKE shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $109.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on ONEOK from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup began coverage on ONEOK in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded ONEOK from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded ONEOK from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONEOK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

ONEOK Profile

ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude.