National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Receives $98.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued 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 shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $82.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $81.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.29. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $67.11 and a twelve month high of $94.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.61.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 22.86%.The business had revenue of $466.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth $7,086,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

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.