Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $623,000 in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 61,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,994,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 6,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:OGS opened at $73.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.37. ONE Gas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.74 and a twelve month high of $82.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.13. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $935.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is currently 64.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on OGS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ONE Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on ONE Gas from $74.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ONE Gas from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.36.

ONE Gas Company 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.