SFE Investment Counsel Cuts Holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 155,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,275 shares during the period. ONEOK makes up approximately 2.8% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $10,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of OKE. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in ONEOK during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in ONEOK during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith purchased 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.25 per share, with a total value of $203,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price target on ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on ONEOK from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded ONEOK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded ONEOK from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.25.

ONEOK Stock Performance

NYSE:OKE remained flat at $77.68 during trading hours on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 1,182,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,019,171. The company has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. ONEOK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.91 and a twelve month high of $80.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.86.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.