Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Invests $63.86 Million in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 679,680 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $63,863,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,035,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $343,962,000 after purchasing an additional 132,855 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 103.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,138,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $197,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,067 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,816,217 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $145,446,000 after purchasing an additional 121,099 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 653.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,582,782 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $126,718,000 after buying an additional 1,372,742 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,445,601 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $115,735,000 after buying an additional 37,056 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $75.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $75.17 and a one year high of $97.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.37.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

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.