ONEOK, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.99 (NYSE:OKE)

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of 0.99 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th.

ONEOK has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. ONEOK has a payout ratio of 72.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect ONEOK to earn $5.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 71.7%.

ONEOK Stock Performance

NYSE OKE opened at $79.63 on Friday. ONEOK has a 1 year low of $55.91 and a 1 year high of $80.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $46.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.03.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted 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 return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ONEOK will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OKE has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of ONEOK from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of ONEOK from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of ONEOK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.25.

Insider Activity at ONEOK

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $75.25 per share, with a total value of $203,175.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of ONEOK by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 780,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,098 shares in the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of ONEOK by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 243,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,119,000 after acquiring an additional 61,633 shares in the last quarter. 69.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONEOK Company Profile

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.