ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on OKE. Raymond James lifted their target price on ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. US Capital Advisors downgraded ONEOK from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised ONEOK from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $83.58.

ONEOK Stock Up 0.4 %

OKE stock opened at $77.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.70. ONEOK has a one year low of $55.91 and a one year high of $81.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.34 and a 200-day moving average of $72.04.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. ONEOK had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that ONEOK will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.09%.

ONEOK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at ONEOK

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith acquired 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,175. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ONEOK in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ONEOK by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

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.