ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $65.09, but opened at $62.45. ONE Gas shares last traded at $63.53, with a volume of 23,941 shares trading hands.

The utilities provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $758.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. ONE Gas had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 8.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OGS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on ONE Gas from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised ONE Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONE Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OGS. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 66.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in ONE Gas during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in ONE Gas by 290.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in ONE Gas by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 147.8% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. 88.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONE Gas Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.65.

About ONE Gas

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.