Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New $9.33 Million Investment in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 103,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,333,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OKE. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in ONEOK by 9,439.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,230,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,440,000 after buying an additional 3,197,121 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in ONEOK by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,480,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,593,023,000 after acquiring an additional 661,854 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,957,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 3,648.4% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 514,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,995,000 after purchasing an additional 501,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 3,137.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 405,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 392,644 shares during the period. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $85.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on ONEOK from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on ONEOK from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised ONEOK from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $103.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pattye L. Moore sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.01, for a total value of $310,901.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ONEOK Price Performance

OKE stock opened at $113.60 on Monday. ONEOK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.49 and a 52 week high of $118.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.05). ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.85%.

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.