Freedom Broker Raises ONEOK Price Target to $110, Maintains Buy Rating
Key Facts
Freedom Broker raised its price target for ONEOK to $110 from $105, while maintaining its buy rating, MarketBeat reported, citing Benzinga, on November 2, 2026. The stock closed at $92.52 in the same session, according to EL7 data. The price target adjustment followed the company’s release of third-quarter results and an increase to its financial guidance for the current year. A Seeking Alpha upgrade that the draft headline linked to a new buy recommendation could not be verified from the original page or a reliable source. A forecast for EBITDA to reach $9.2 billion in 2027 also could not be documented.
ONEOK reported net income attributable to the company of $1.35 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $939 million in the same period a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $2.13, up from $1.49 in the third quarter of 2025. The company said results benefited from higher volumes of natural gas, natural gas liquids and refined products, along with increased optimization and marketing activity. Natural gas liquids raw feed throughput rose 6% year over year, including a 16% increase in the Gulf Coast and Permian region. Refined product shipments also increased 6%, while natural gas processing in the Permian rose 4%.
ONEOK raised its 2026 net income guidance to a range of $4.09 billion to $4.27 billion and increased its expected diluted earnings per share range to $6.15–$6.45. The company said the new guidance includes an expected contribution of about $75 million from Brazos assets. Of that amount, about $50 million is expected to be reflected in adjusted EBITDA after transaction costs. The company had raised its 2026 financial guidance for the second time, according to a previous story published by EL7 on October 1. The revised guidance provides a documented measure of performance for the current year, while the results release does not substantiate a $9.2 billion EBITDA forecast for 2027.
In October, ONEOK completed its acquisition of Brazos’ natural gas gathering and processing assets in the Midland Basin of the Permian for about $4.425 billion in cash. The company said the deal will increase processing capacity in the Midland Basin to about 2.3 billion cubic feet per day, including facilities under construction. The Brazos system is supported by dedicated acreage under long-term fee-based contracts covering about 600,000 acres, with an average remaining term of more than 12 years. The deal expands ONEOK’s presence in the Midland region and strengthens integration across the natural gas and natural gas liquids value chain, according to the investor presentation. The assets matter to the company’s results because higher processing volumes in the Permian, among other factors, contributed to improved operating volumes during the quarter.
Apollo financed the deal with a $9 billion investment in exchange for a non-voting minority stake in ONEOK. The company said it plans to use $5 billion of the investment proceeds to reduce outstanding debt. Apollo set an internal rate of return cap of 7.0% during the first nine years, according to ONEOK’s announcement. As part of its debt reduction efforts, the company said S&P and Fitch raised its long-term credit rating to BBB+ from BBB, with a stable outlook. ONEOK linked the credit rating upgrade to the completion of the investment transactions and its debt repayment plans.
ONEOK said it expects substantial earnings growth in 2027, driven by Brazos assets and growth projects that have been completed or are under way, as well as continued commercial optimization across its systems. The company’s statement did not specify a total EBITDA figure for that year. In October, the company announced a quarterly distribution of $1.07 per share, equivalent to $4.28 annually on an adjusted basis. Third-quarter earnings also included a one-time, non-cash tax benefit of $336 million, or $0.53 per diluted share. These items put the quarter’s results and growth outlook in context as the impact of the Brazos deal flows into future periods.