ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Short Interest Down 50.0% in February

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,450,000 shares, a decrease of 50.0% from the January 31st total of 22,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upgraded ONEOK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on ONEOK from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank started coverage on ONEOK in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on ONEOK from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on ONEOK in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONEOK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.15.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OKE. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OKE traded up $3.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.29. 7,100,796 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,062,820. ONEOK has a 1 year low of $74.39 and a 1 year high of $118.07. The company has a market cap of $62.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.29.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.11. ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. Equities analysts predict that ONEOK will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.69%.

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.