Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 5,991 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,991 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OKE. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ONEOK during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in ONEOK by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of ONEOK in a report on Thursday, February 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of ONEOK from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America started coverage on ONEOK in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded ONEOK from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONEOK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of ONEOK stock opened at $98.98 on Wednesday. ONEOK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.65 and a 52 week high of $118.07. The company has a market capitalization of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.19%.

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.