Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 31,045 Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 701,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,045 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.24% of ONE Gas worth $50,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC increased its stake in ONE Gas by 266.0% during the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of ONE Gas during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 150.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ONE Gas by 75.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in ONE Gas during the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

OGS stock opened at $70.50 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.37. ONE Gas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.74 and a fifty-two week high of $78.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.70.

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

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of ONE Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $75.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America began coverage on ONE Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.69.

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.