Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Sells 27,734 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,734 shares during the period. ONEOK makes up approximately 2.4% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $3,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of OKE. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in ONEOK during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of OKE opened at $96.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.59. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.05 and a 1 year high of $118.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.97. The firm has a market cap of $56.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.70.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.05). ONEOK had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ONEOK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.92.

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.