National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $82.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.20. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $75.17 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.71 and a 200-day moving average of $84.48.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%.The business had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NFG. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 33.5% during the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 45,298 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,497,000 after buying an additional 11,373 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 16,688 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,489,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 7,517.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,088,211 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $624,491,000 after acquiring an additional 7,982,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $433,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

About National Fuel Gas

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.