Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Takes $457,000 Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 5.0% in the third quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in ONEOK by 0.8% in the second quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 21,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 70,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,477,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ONEOK by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONEOK Price Performance

NYSE:OKE opened at $79.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.42. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.91 and a 1 year high of $80.22.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 30th were given a $0.99 dividend. This is a positive change from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 29th. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is 71.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ONEOK news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith purchased 2,700 shares of ONEOK stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on OKE shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of ONEOK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, US Capital Advisors cut shares of ONEOK from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.73.

ONEOK Company 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.