Employees Retirement System of Texas Invests $30.14 Million in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,136,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its stake in ONEOK by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its position in shares of ONEOK by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ONEOK by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ONEOK by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 8,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its holdings in ONEOK by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 7,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONEOK Trading Down 12.9 %

NYSE:OKE opened at $80.73 on Monday. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.23 and a 12 month high of $118.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.30. The stock has a market cap of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.20.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.11. ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.18 billion. Equities analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on OKE shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of ONEOK from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on ONEOK from $109.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on ONEOK in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, US Capital Advisors raised shares of ONEOK from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ONEOK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

ONEOK Company Profile

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.