Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 214,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,914 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $13,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $364,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in ONE Gas by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 68,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in ONE Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $12,594,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in ONE Gas by 150.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in ONE Gas by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 5,428 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:OGS opened at $73.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.66. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.50 and a 1 year high of $74.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.41.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.01). ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The firm had revenue of $354.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised ONE Gas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.21.

ONE Gas Profile

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.