Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Invests $5.03 Million in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 59,350 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,028,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have 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 first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 316.7% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 355.1% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 405 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NFG opened at $80.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.82. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $59.01 and a 52 week high of $94.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.57.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $456.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Scotiabank lowered National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered National Fuel Gas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

About National Fuel Gas

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.