National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Holdings Lifted by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 673,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 29,226 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.71% of National Fuel Gas worth $53,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $92,415,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 103.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,138,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $197,501,000 after buying an additional 1,087,067 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,260,532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $100,918,000 after buying an additional 546,337 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 642.7% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 465,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,460,000 after purchasing an additional 403,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $22,739,000. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $76.78 on Wednesday. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $75.67 and a 12 month high of $97.06. The company has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.99.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.96%.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.