Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 75,851 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 923,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 75,851 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $73,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NFG. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 51.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 21,861 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 158.7% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 95,206 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $8,794,000 after buying an additional 58,399 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 74.9% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 521,928 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,210,000 after buying an additional 223,459 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 39.0% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 100,255 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,261,000 after buying an additional 28,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 31.4% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 45,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,168,000 after purchasing an additional 10,773 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG stock opened at $76.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.12. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $75.85 and a 12 month high of $97.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The firm had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $856.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 28.96%.

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.