National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $72.41 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.81 and its 200-day moving average is $61.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -517.16 and a beta of 0.64. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.13.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is -1,471.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. The trade was a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. This represents a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,826 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 13,240 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $367,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 93,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,717,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields.