Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 696,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,162 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of ONEOK worth $48,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OKE. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter worth about $365,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in ONEOK by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 177,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in ONEOK by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 4,894 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,713,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ONEOK

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE opened at $81.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.64. ONEOK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.91 and a twelve month high of $82.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.73.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 15.94%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OKE. Truist Financial raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of ONEOK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. 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. Finally, US Capital Advisors lowered shares of ONEOK from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.58.

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.