National Fuel Gas Company $NFG is Aventail Capital Group LP’s Largest Position

Aventail Capital Group LP raised its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 148.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,090,380 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 651,238 shares during the quarter. National Fuel Gas makes up approximately 5.0% of Aventail Capital Group LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Aventail Capital Group LP owned approximately 1.15% of National Fuel Gas worth $87,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $75.88 on Thursday. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $75.27 and a 12 month high of $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The company had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $856.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.96%.

National Fuel Gas 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.