JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) to Neutral

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $83.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $87.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.61% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on OKE. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of ONEOK from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ONEOK in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded shares of ONEOK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $94.00 price objective on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.31.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OKE opened at $79.34 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.90. ONEOK has a one year low of $64.02 and a one year high of $103.64. The firm has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.94.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.23 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 15.12% and a net margin of 10.58%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that ONEOK will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at ONEOK

In other ONEOK news, Director Brian L. Derksen acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.00 per share, for a total transaction of $165,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 21,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,200. This trade represents a 13.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in ONEOK by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in ONEOK during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 10.1% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ONEOK

ONEOK, Inc (NYSE: OKE) is a publicly traded midstream energy company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company owns and operates a portfolio of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines, processing facilities, fractionators and storage and terminal assets. Its operations are focused on gathering, processing, transporting, fractionating and marketing NGLs and interstate natural gas, providing critical infrastructure that connects hydrocarbon production to refineries, petrochemical plants and other end markets.

ONEOK’s asset base includes pipeline systems and processing plants that move and condition natural gas, along with infrastructure for the transportation, storage and fractionation of NGLs such as ethane, propane and butane.