Morgan Stanley Raises ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) Price Target to $61.00

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on OGS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ONE Gas from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ONE Gas from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a sell rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of ONE Gas from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $64.50 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $64.94.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:OGS opened at $59.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.29 and a 200-day moving average of $62.06. ONE Gas has a 1 year low of $55.50 and a 1 year high of $83.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $758.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 8.37%. ONE Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ONE Gas will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is 65.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the third quarter valued at $248,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the third quarter valued at $341,000. abrdn plc increased its position in shares of ONE Gas by 1.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 247,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,905,000 after acquiring an additional 4,030 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in ONE Gas by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 31,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ONE Gas

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.