ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OGS. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.44.

ONE Gas Stock Up 2.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.57 and its 200 day moving average is $72.56.

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

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONE Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OGS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in ONE Gas by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 758,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,438,000 after buying an additional 18,889 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 164.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 60,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 37,377 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 5.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in ONE Gas by 32.2% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 249,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,599,000 after purchasing an additional 60,922 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in ONE Gas by 10.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 40,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,818 shares during the last quarter. 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.