Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 70.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 255.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 214,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,042,000 after acquiring an additional 153,974 shares during the period. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,018,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 326,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,946,000 after acquiring an additional 40,928 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 16,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 6,052 shares during the period. 69.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OKE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of ONEOK from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of ONEOK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Wolfe Research raised shares of ONEOK from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.58.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith acquired 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:OKE opened at $78.36 on Wednesday. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.91 and a 12 month high of $81.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.64.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. ONEOK had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. ONEOK’s payout ratio is currently 92.09%.

ONEOK declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.