Short Interest in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Expands By 19.4%

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,065,308 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 3,404,002 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 790,683 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth about $5,228,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,541,000 after purchasing an additional 13,620 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 21,861 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 152.2% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 100,255 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,261,000 after buying an additional 28,118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $101.00 target price on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock traded down $0.88 on Tuesday, reaching $94.11. 1,146,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 845,069. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $69.93 and a 1-year high of $97.06. The company has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.57.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.70 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 29.85%.

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.