625,913 Shares in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 625,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,344,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OGS. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 3,620.0% during 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 during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in ONE Gas by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONE Gas Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE:OGS opened at $73.66 on Friday. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.31 and a 1 year high of $78.89. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.68.

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

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

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.