ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,450,000 shares, a drop of 50.0% from the January 31st total of 22,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONEOK

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. McAdam LLC boosted its position in ONEOK by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in ONEOK by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ONEOK by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 8,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its stake in ONEOK by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 7,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE:OKE traded up $3.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.29. 7,100,796 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,062,820. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.70. ONEOK has a 12-month low of $74.39 and a 12-month high of $118.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.10.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.18 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ONEOK will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. ONEOK’s payout ratio is 79.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on OKE shares. Wolfe Research raised ONEOK from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on ONEOK in a report on Thursday, February 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. US Capital Advisors raised ONEOK from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on ONEOK in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.15.

About ONEOK

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.