Phocas Financial Corp. Purchases New Shares in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 88,511 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 103.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,138,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $197,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,067 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 642.7% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 465,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,460,000 after acquiring an additional 403,107 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 428.8% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 308,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,493,000 after purchasing an additional 250,130 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 99.6% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 465,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,976,000 after purchasing an additional 232,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 74.9% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 521,928 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,210,000 after purchasing an additional 223,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NFG. Zacks Research raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Scotiabank set a $101.00 price objective on National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $94.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1-year low of $69.93 and a 1-year high of $97.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.26.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

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

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.