SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 78.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,488 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.06% of National Fuel Gas worth $4,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 159,953 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,667,000 after purchasing an additional 36,913 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 220,730 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,480,000 after buying an additional 8,304 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 79.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $101.00 price target on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE NFG opened at $92.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $69.93 and a 12 month high of $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.25 and a 200-day moving average of $85.18.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.15. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

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.