ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) Price Target Increased to $88.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $81.00 to $88.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded ONEOK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. US Capital Advisors lowered ONEOK from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho raised their target price on ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ONEOK presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $82.25.

ONEOK Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of OKE opened at $77.07 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.65. ONEOK has a 1-year low of $55.91 and a 1-year high of $80.81.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that ONEOK will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other ONEOK news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith acquired 2,700 shares of ONEOK stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 65,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,233,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 1st quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Stokes Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ONEOK

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.