Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Verus Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ONEOK during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in ONEOK during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of OKE stock opened at $107.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.77 and a 12-month high of $109.21. The company has a market cap of $62.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.90.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.05). ONEOK had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. ONEOK’s payout ratio is currently 82.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OKE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of ONEOK to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of ONEOK from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on ONEOK from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ONEOK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at ONEOK

In related news, Director Pattye L. Moore sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.01, for a total value of $310,901.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About ONEOK

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.