ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $75.78 and last traded at $75.56, with a volume of 7732 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.10.

ONE Gas Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.67.

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

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 68.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in ONE Gas by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,598,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,590,000 after acquiring an additional 272,923 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,470,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,873,000 after purchasing an additional 10,189 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its position in ONE Gas by 52.9% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,058,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,317,000 after purchasing an additional 366,363 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in ONE Gas by 10.4% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,082,000 after purchasing an additional 98,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in ONE Gas by 7.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 897,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,308,000 after purchasing an additional 61,192 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.