National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $75.03 and last traded at $75.6210, with a volume of 93368 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.5550 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $748,569,000. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth $231,309,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,816,217 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $145,446,000 after acquiring an additional 121,099 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,177,958 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $110,686,000 after purchasing an additional 42,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,415,000. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and marketing of natural gas. Through its subsidiaries, the company operates across multiple segments of the natural gas value chain, with a concentration in the Appalachian Basin and the northeastern United States.

National Fuel’s exploration and production operations are conducted primarily through Seneca Resources Company, which develops and produces natural gas in the Appalachian region.