Ethic Inc. Purchases 3,788 Shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Ethic Inc. grew its position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of OGS. Arizona State Retirement System raised 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 buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 61,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in ONE Gas by 4.1% in 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. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their target price on ONE Gas from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on ONE Gas and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ONE Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.44.

ONE Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OGS opened at $73.18 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.34. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.86. ONE Gas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.31 and a twelve month high of $82.25.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.13. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $935.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is presently 64.73%.

About ONE Gas

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.