ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday.

OGS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on ONE Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.69.

ONE Gas Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ONE Gas stock opened at $67.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.54. ONE Gas has a 1-year low of $57.74 and a 1-year high of $78.89.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $340.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.48 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. ONE Gas’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ONE Gas will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONE Gas

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 22.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,470,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,283,000 after buying an additional 645,566 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in ONE Gas by 320.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 402,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,980,000 after acquiring an additional 306,974 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of ONE Gas by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,598,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,590,000 after purchasing an additional 272,923 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 9,036.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 202,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,061,000 after purchasing an additional 200,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONE Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $12,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Company Profile

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.