ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Price Target Raised to $70.00

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on OGS. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America began coverage on ONE Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ONE Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.44.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

OGS opened at $74.12 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. ONE Gas has a fifty-two week low of $58.31 and a fifty-two week high of $78.89.

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

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OGS. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in ONE Gas by 3,620.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in ONE Gas in the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in ONE Gas during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

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.