ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 1.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 594,018 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 8,796 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $30,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 22.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,176 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 10.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 33,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 54,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 7,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $50.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.28. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $48.60 and a twelve month high of $66.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $368.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.08 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th were issued a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on NFG shares. Scotiabank raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on National Fuel Gas from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 27th.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil in California and in the Appalachian region of the United States.