Short Interest in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Increases By 23.5%

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,930,000 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the October 31st total of 11,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

ONEOK Price Performance

ONEOK stock traded down $3.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $110.43. 3,318,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,814,314. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.13. The company has a market capitalization of $64.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.66. ONEOK has a 12-month low of $65.49 and a 12-month high of $118.07.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts forecast that ONEOK will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on OKE. Barclays increased their price objective on ONEOK from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ONEOK from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. US Capital Advisors raised ONEOK from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on ONEOK in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised ONEOK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.38.

Insider Activity at ONEOK

In other ONEOK news, Director Pattye L. Moore sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.01, for a total transaction of $310,901.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 6.3% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 1.6% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 1.2% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 10,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 2.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 0.9% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Company Profile

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.