ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Upgraded to “Hold” at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on OGS. Bank of America began coverage on ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.31.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

Shares of OGS opened at $74.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.94 and a 200-day moving average of $72.32. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. ONE Gas has a one year low of $58.31 and a one year high of $78.89.

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

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONE Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OGS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,470,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,283,000 after purchasing an additional 645,566 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ONE Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,344,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 1,421.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 489,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,865,000 after purchasing an additional 456,891 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 821,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,914,000 after purchasing an additional 310,460 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 320.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 402,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,980,000 after purchasing an additional 306,974 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Company 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.