ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 104,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,194 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $7,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Command Bank boosted its stake in ONEOK by 401.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Command Bank now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ONEOK by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Stock Up 2.2 %

OKE stock opened at $79.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.91 and a 1 year high of $80.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.10. The firm has a market cap of $46.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 1.65.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on OKE. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of ONEOK from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of ONEOK from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of ONEOK from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.25.

ONEOK Company Profile

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.