Here's Why Should Hold ONEOK (OKE) Stock in Your Portfolio
Estimates for ONEOK, Inc. OKE have been revised upward in the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 and 2019 earnings have moved up 4.8% and 0.7% to $2.83 and $2.86, respectively.
Shares of ONEOK have increased 17.5% in the past 12 months compared with industry’s rise of 1.7%. ONEOK Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Let’s focus on factors that make ONEOK an attractive stock to hold in.
Surprise Trend & Y/Y Earnings Growth Estimates
ONEOK pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 3.08% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for year-over-year earnings growth for 2018 and 2019 is pegged at 60.80% and 0.93%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for year-over-year total revenue growth for 2018 and 2019 is pegged at 8.74% and 9.85%, respectively.
VGM Score
ONEOK has an impressive VGM Score of A. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum with the score being a weighted combination of all three factors. Back tested results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a bullish Zacks Rank are the best investment options.
Benefits From ONEOK Partners Acquisition
ONEOK Partners is the primary growth vehicle for ONEOK and the completion of acquisition of the remaining interest in ONEOK Partners is going to be accretive to distributable cash flow from 2017 through 2021. ONEOK Partners’ financial strength, diverse operations, excellent market connectivity and systematic investments in organic projects as well as strategic acquisitions provide ONEOK a distinct competitive advantage.
Fee Based Contracts
ONEOK continues to benefit from long-term fee-based earnings. Fee-based contracts enabled the Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment’s overall fee rate to increase to 92 cents per million British thermal units in the reported quarter, up 7.0% year over year.
Drilling in High Productive Regions
Increase in drilling activities in high productive regions will raise demand for the company’s midstream services. The company expects production volumes in the STACK and SCOOP areas to improve driving demand for pipeline services. Higher ethane recovery in mid-continent will drive growth volume in 2018. The company expects total growth capital expenditures of 2018 in the range of $2.0-$2.3 billion.
Stocks to Consider
A few better-ranked stocks from the same sector are Pinnacle West Capital Corporation PNW, Ameren Corporation AEE and FirstEnergy Corp FE. All three stocks hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings for Pinnacle West Capital inched up 0.7% in the past 60 days. The company came up with average positive earnings surprise of 6.15% in the last four quarters.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings for Ameren moved up 3.7% in the past 60 days. The company pulled off positive earnings surprise of 15.40% in the last four quarters.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings for FirstEnergy moved up 3.6% in the past 60 days. The company delivered average positive earnings surprise of 3.67% in the last four quarters.
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Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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