National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Holdings Decreased by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,724 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 14,200 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.08% of National Fuel Gas worth $6,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 316.7% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,426 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,849,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,341 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 1.5%

NFG opened at $79.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.35. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.12 and a fifty-two week high of $94.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.94 and a 200-day moving average of $84.71.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $466.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 37.68%.

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.