National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 2.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 340,003 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,951 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $31,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,086,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 61,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,942,000 after buying an additional 28,293 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 315,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,911,000 after acquiring an additional 24,988 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $63,863,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 294.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock opened at $80.69 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.46. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12-month low of $75.17 and a 12-month high of $97.06. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The business had revenue of $858.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 30.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NFG. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.50.

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.