Investors Buy Large Volume of ONEOK Call Options (NYSE:OKE)

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 20,939 call options on the company. This is an increase of 233% compared to the average volume of 6,282 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on ONEOK from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on ONEOK from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $94.00 price target on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ONEOK

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in ONEOK by 73.3% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of ONEOK during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in shares of ONEOK during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONEOK Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ONEOK stock opened at $86.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.53. ONEOK has a 1 year low of $64.02 and a 1 year high of $103.64.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.68%.

ONEOK Company Profile

ONEOK, Inc (NYSE: OKE) is a publicly traded midstream energy company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company owns and operates a portfolio of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines, processing facilities, fractionators and storage and terminal assets. Its operations are focused on gathering, processing, transporting, fractionating and marketing NGLs and interstate natural gas, providing critical infrastructure that connects hydrocarbon production to refineries, petrochemical plants and other end markets.

ONEOK’s asset base includes pipeline systems and processing plants that move and condition natural gas, along with infrastructure for the transportation, storage and fractionation of NGLs such as ethane, propane and butane.