National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Shares Purchased by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 74.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 521,928 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 223,459 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $48,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,228,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 15.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,541,000 after purchasing an additional 13,620 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 152.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 20,726 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 21,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 127,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,738,000 after purchasing an additional 26,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NFG stock opened at $96.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.52. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1-year low of $69.93 and a 1-year high of $96.78.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.15. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank set a $101.00 price objective on National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.00.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.