National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Shares Acquired by Energy Income Partners LLC

Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,589,824 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,755 shares during the quarter. National Fuel Gas comprises 3.9% of Energy Income Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Energy Income Partners LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $243,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NFG. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth $7,086,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 61,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 28,293 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth $63,863,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 315,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,911,000 after purchasing an additional 24,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 294.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NFG stock opened at $80.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1 year low of $75.17 and a 1 year high of $97.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 30.04%.

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.