Valued at $57.1 billion by market cap, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) operates as a leading midstream energy company focused on processing, transportation, and storage of crude, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company plays a crucial role in connecting oil & gas producers with end markets across North America.

Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” ONEOK fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the oil & gas midstream industry.

Despite its strengths, ONEOK has dropped 21.5% from its all-time high of $118.07 touched on Nov. 22, 2024. Meanwhile, OKE has dropped 11.2% over the past three months, performing slightly better than the Nasdaq Composite’s ($NASX) 13% decline during the same time frame.

OKE has outperformed the Nasdaq over the longer term as well. OKE has gained 2.6% over the past six months and soared 19.8% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming NASX’s 23 bps uptick over the past six months and 8.8% returns over the past year.

To confirm the overall uptrend and recent downturn, OKE has traded mostly above its 200-day moving average over the past year and fell below its 50-day moving average in late January and below its 200-day moving average in early March.

Despite delivering better-than-expected financials, ONEOK’s stock prices dipped 2.4% in the trading session after the release of its Q4 results on Feb. 25. Driven by increased volumes and acquisitions, the company’s overall topline increased 33.7% year-over-year to $7 billion, which surpassed the Street’s expectations by 6.8%. Meanwhile, its net income to shareholders surged 34.2% year-over-year to $923 million and its EPS of $1.57 surpassed the consensus estimates by 8.3%.

However, due to its aggressive acquisitions, the company’s long-term debt has increased 46.4% year-over-year to more than $31 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024. Moreover, its CFO to adjusted EBITDA ratio for fiscal 2024 dropped significantly from 84.3% in fiscal 2023 to 72.1%, which raised concerns about the company’s ability to convert earnings into cash and unsettled investor confidence.

ONEOK has significantly underperformed its peer Kinder Morgan, Inc.’s (KMI) 26.8% surge over the past six months and an impressive 47% return over the past 52 weeks.

Among the 17 analysts covering the OKE stock, the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy.” Its mean price target of $111.18 represents a 20% premium to current price levels.