ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 718,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,604 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.27% of ONE Gas worth $49,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in ONE Gas during the third quarter valued at about $3,135,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in ONE Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in ONE Gas by 234.1% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 60,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,539,000 after buying an additional 42,724 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in ONE Gas by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ONE Gas by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,354,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,836,000 after buying an additional 18,477 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONE Gas Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:OGS opened at $73.66 on Friday. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.31 and a 1-year high of $78.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $630.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.58 million. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 7.70%. Equities analysts anticipate that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. ONE Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

ONE Gas Profile

ONE Gas, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a regulated natural gas distribution company in the United States. The company provides natural gas distribution services to approximately 2.3 million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. It serves residential, commercial, and transportation customers.