Aljian Capital Management LLC Invests $222,000 in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 62.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 458,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,557,000 after acquiring an additional 176,290 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 39.0% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,841 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.0% in the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 10,923 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 104.4% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 59,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,683,000 after acquiring an additional 30,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NFG shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG opened at $85.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.57. The firm has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.76, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $53.98 and a twelve month high of $86.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 479.07%.

National Fuel Gas 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.