PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 6.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 75,325 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 5,022 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $5,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in 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 National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised National Fuel Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $86.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $84.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.65. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $58.30 and a twelve month high of $89.82.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.535 dividend. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 80.45%.

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.