Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 513,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,476 shares during the quarter. ONEOK comprises 1.1% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $51,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OKE. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth about $182,694,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,414,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,848,844,000 after buying an additional 934,007 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,957,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,262,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,779,000 after buying an additional 498,908 shares during the period. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,194,000. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONEOK Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ONEOK stock opened at $97.95 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.74. 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 company has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.70. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.23 and a 1-year high of $118.07.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. As a group, research analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. ONEOK’s payout ratio is currently 79.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on OKE. Barclays dropped their target price on ONEOK from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on ONEOK from $109.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. US Capital Advisors upgraded ONEOK from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded ONEOK from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on ONEOK from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.31.

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.