ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Price Target Raised to $70.00 at Morgan Stanley

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on OGS. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on ONE Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.44.

ONE Gas Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:OGS opened at $73.11 on Thursday. ONE Gas has a 52 week low of $58.31 and a 52 week high of $78.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $630.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.58 million. Research analysts anticipate that ONE Gas will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in ONE Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 3,620.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

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.