Brokerages Set ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) Target Price at $72.44

ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.44.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Trading of ONE Gas

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in ONE Gas by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 61,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ONE Gas by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in ONE Gas by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in ONE Gas by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE OGS opened at $73.74 on Friday. ONE Gas has a 1 year low of $58.31 and a 1 year high of $78.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.49. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.