Burford Brothers Inc. Makes New $1.17 Million Investment in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,495 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,035,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $343,962,000 after acquiring an additional 132,855 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,087,067 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,816,217 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $145,446,000 after purchasing an additional 121,099 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 653.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,582,782 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $126,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,445,601 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $115,735,000 after purchasing an additional 37,056 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.2%

NFG opened at $79.19 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.53. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.17 and a 52 week high of $97.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $858.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

About National Fuel Gas

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.