KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Lowers Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 5.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 44,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,122 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,908 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth $259,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded National Fuel Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $86.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.92. 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 Company has a 12-month low of $56.29 and a 12-month high of $89.82. The company has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 201.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 497.67%.

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.