National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $85.51 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.49 and its 200 day moving average is $74.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 198.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $53.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.45.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued 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 company had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.535 dividend. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 479.07%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 223.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

About National Fuel Gas

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.