Novem Group Acquires Shares of 4,755 National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Novem Group acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,755 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Barclays PLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 243.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 102,672 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 72,802 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,579,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,894 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.9%

NFG stock opened at $80.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of -575.42 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $53.03 and a one year high of $83.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.63.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 479.07%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields.