Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 209,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,823 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.37% of ONE Gas worth $14,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 3,620.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in ONE Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in ONE Gas in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of ONE Gas by 42.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ONE Gas Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:OGS opened at $76.51 on Thursday. ONE Gas, Inc. has a one year low of $58.31 and a one year high of $78.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $630.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.58 million. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.70%. As a group, analysts forecast that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is an increase from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America began coverage on ONE Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

ONE Gas Company 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.