National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on NFG. Scotiabank lowered National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NFG opened at $81.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.34. 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 has a one year low of $67.11 and a one year high of $94.13. The company has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.61.

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. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 22.86%.The company had revenue of $466.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.68%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 25,766 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 5.3% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 19.6% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 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 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.