Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,516 shares during the period. Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OKE. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of ONEOK by 67.9% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 39,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in ONEOK by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its position in ONEOK by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its position in ONEOK by 240.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 60,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,823,000 after purchasing an additional 42,585 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co increased its position in ONEOK by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 9,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the period. 69.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONEOK Stock Down 0.4 %

ONEOK stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,555,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,506,930. The company has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.68. ONEOK, Inc. has a one year low of $55.91 and a one year high of $81.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. ONEOK’s payout ratio is 71.35%.

ONEOK declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on OKE. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of ONEOK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of ONEOK from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $203,175. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.