Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Trims Stock Position in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS) by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 129,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 35,288 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in ONE Gas were worth $8,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in ONE Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,395,000. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,058,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,317,000 after buying an additional 366,363 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,598,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,590,000 after buying an additional 272,923 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the 1st quarter worth $16,939,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ONE Gas by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,108,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,657,000 after acquiring an additional 147,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on OGS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded ONE Gas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com cut ONE Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.64.

ONE Gas Stock Performance

ONE Gas stock opened at $73.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.66. ONE Gas, Inc. has a one year low of $55.50 and a one year high of $75.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.41.

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $354.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.06 million. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONE Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. ONE Gas’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

About ONE Gas

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.