National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG opened at $81.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.54 and a 200-day moving average of $84.55. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $75.17 and a 52-week high of $97.06. 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 (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $564.33 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 30.83%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,983,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 84.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth about $63,863,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 9.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 212,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,928,000 after purchasing an additional 17,713 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 294.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.