Sigma Planning Corp Trims Stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,134 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OKE. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in ONEOK by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in ONEOK by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 76,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,857,000 after acquiring an additional 12,905 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at $233,000. Ziegler Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,364,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in ONEOK by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 39,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 15,819 shares in the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on OKE. StockNews.com raised ONEOK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on ONEOK from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research raised ONEOK from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on ONEOK from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ONEOK currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith acquired 2,700 shares of ONEOK stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of OKE opened at $80.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.41. ONEOK, Inc. has a one year low of $55.91 and a one year high of $80.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.65.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 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 firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

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

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.