ONEOK Powers Up Investor Confidence: Dividend Hike & $2B Buyback Program

ONEOK Inc OKE disclosed a dividend increase and share repurchase enhancement, thereby boosting investor’s confidence.

Dividend: The company raised its quarterly dividend per share by 3.7% to $0.99, which resulted in an annualized dividend per share of $3.96.

The dividend is payable on February 14, 2024, to shareholders of record as of business January 30, 2024.

OKE is targeting an annual dividend growth rate of 3% to 4% in the future.

Repurchase: Also, OKE’s board authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program and expects it to be completed in the next four years. 

Notably, in Q4, OKE repurchased around $300 million of face value of its outstanding notes at a discount to par value and finished the year with about $340 million cash.

Overall, with the combination of dividends and share buybacks, the company expects to achieve a target of about 75% to 85% of forecasted cash flow from operations after capital expenditures in the next four years.

Also, OKE remains committed to its previously stated target debt-to-EBITDA ratio of about 3.5x.

Also Read: ONEOK Standing Tall Among Large Peers, Analyst Upgrades Stock

Price Action: OKE shares are trading higher by 0.94% at $69.71 premarket on the last check Thursday.