Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 11,128 Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 5,736.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,128 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in ONE Gas by 3,620.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of ONE Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in ONE Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in ONE Gas by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OGS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.21.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

Shares of OGS opened at $76.96 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.70. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.31 and a 12 month high of $78.89. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

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

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.