ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Short Interest Update

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,930,000 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the October 31st total of 11,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ONEOK from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on ONEOK from $85.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on ONEOK from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of ONEOK in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ONEOK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.38.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In other news, Director Pattye L. Moore sold 3,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.01, for a total transaction of $310,901.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in ONEOK during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in ONEOK during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ONEOK Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of OKE traded down $3.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $110.43. The stock had a trading volume of 3,318,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,814,314. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.13. ONEOK has a 1-year low of $65.49 and a 1-year high of $118.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.66.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that ONEOK will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.