Stifel Nicolaus Boosts ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) Price Target to $88.00

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $81.00 to $88.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

OKE has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup lifted 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. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of ONEOK from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ONEOK presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $82.25.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE opened at $77.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.53 and a 200 day moving average of $70.91. ONEOK has a twelve month low of $55.91 and a twelve month high of $80.81.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 22.57%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ONEOK will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. ONEOK’s payout ratio is 71.35%.

Insider Activity at ONEOK

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ONEOK by 275.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in ONEOK by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in ONEOK by 500.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 167,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,812,000 after purchasing an additional 139,379 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in ONEOK by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 161,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,422,000 after purchasing an additional 27,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the 1st quarter worth $614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

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.