KBC Group NV Raises Stake in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 294.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth $7,086,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 18,329 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 8,377 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 17,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 19,027 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank set a $101.00 price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $86.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.65. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $75.73 and a one year high of $97.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.34.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.15. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 27.65%.The firm had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.81 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

National Fuel Gas Profile

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.