Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,399,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,701 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $98,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 118,109.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,562,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,482,363,000 after acquiring an additional 22,543,516 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,237,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,757,405,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,010 shares during the period. Cowa LLC boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 9,775.0% during the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 5,324,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,510 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,292,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $843,133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636,660 shares during the period. Finally, Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 3,478.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 3,578,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478,316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:OKE opened at $77.07 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $76.17 and its 200 day moving average is $70.81. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.91 and a 1 year high of $80.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the utilities provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded ONEOK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded ONEOK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays upped their target price on ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ONEOK currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at ONEOK

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith purchased 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.