ONEOK Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:OKE)

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 3,721 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 49% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,495 call options.

ONEOK Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of OKE stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $86.24. 376,045 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,757,896. The stock has a market cap of $50.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. ONEOK has a 1 year low of $60.58 and a 1 year high of $86.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.80.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 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 posted $1.04 EPS. Research analysts predict that ONEOK will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ONEOK from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of ONEOK to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on ONEOK from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on ONEOK from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ONEOK from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OKE. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 87.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of ONEOK by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 11,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the fourth quarter valued at $2,472,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in ONEOK by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,399,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,293,000 after purchasing an additional 29,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% 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.