Fruth Investment Management Sells 300 Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its holdings in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 6.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in ONE Gas by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,555,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,098,000 after purchasing an additional 52,740 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of ONE Gas by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 197,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after purchasing an additional 54,107 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,825,000. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC bought a new stake in ONE Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,736,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in ONE Gas by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 117,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,477,000 after buying an additional 54,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ONE Gas stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $63.76. 1,004,196 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 484,047. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average of $62.21. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $82.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.47.

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

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on OGS shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com lowered ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on ONE Gas in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.69.

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.