StockNews.com Downgrades ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on OGS. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on ONE Gas from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded ONE Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $75.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $79.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.69.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

Shares of OGS opened at $67.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.71. ONE Gas has a 52-week low of $57.74 and a 52-week high of $78.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.54.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $340.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that ONE Gas will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ONE Gas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in ONE Gas by 4.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in ONE Gas by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in ONE Gas by 17.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in ONE Gas by 75.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in ONE Gas by 266.0% in the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

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.