Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 4,308 Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 154.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,308 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in ONE Gas by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 6,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in shares of ONE Gas by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 15,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OGS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on shares of ONE Gas and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.44.

ONE Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OGS opened at $74.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.34. ONE Gas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.31 and a twelve month high of $82.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.86.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.13. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 7.70%. The business had revenue of $935.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.73%.

ONE Gas 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.