Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Raises Stock Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $1,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OKE. Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE opened at $83.74 on Friday. ONEOK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.48 and a fifty-two week high of $118.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.27. The company has a market cap of $52.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.24). ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. ONEOK’s payout ratio is currently 80.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OKE. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $111.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Six 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.69.

ONEOK Profile

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.