Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 19,540 ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in ONE Gas by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,470,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $258,283,000 after purchasing an additional 645,566 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in ONE Gas by 320.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 402,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,980,000 after acquiring an additional 306,974 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in ONE Gas by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 249,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,599,000 after acquiring an additional 60,922 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in ONE Gas by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,859,000 after acquiring an additional 54,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in ONE Gas by 61.8% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 140,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,758,000 after purchasing an additional 53,800 shares in the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ONE Gas Price Performance

ONE Gas stock opened at $73.43 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.44. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.31 and a 1 year high of $78.89.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. ONE Gas had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $630.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.58 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

ONE Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from ONE Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on ONE Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on ONE Gas from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of ONE Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.