Castleark Management LLC Purchases Shares of 7,660 National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,660 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $591,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $748,569,000. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $231,309,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,372,742 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $92,415,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 103.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,138,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $197,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,067 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $83.61 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12-month low of $75.17 and a 12-month high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $537.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

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

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.