ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased 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 reduced their target price on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.69.

ONE Gas Price Performance

ONE Gas stock opened at $68.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.42. ONE Gas has a 12 month low of $57.74 and a 12 month high of $78.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.71.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $340.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.48 million. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 10.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ONE Gas will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OGS. Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its position in ONE Gas by 266.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in ONE Gas by 150.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in ONE Gas by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in ONE Gas by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. 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.