Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 9,543 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,070 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 9,543 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of National Fuel Gas worth $3,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1,676.0% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 444 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 566.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James lowered National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered National Fuel Gas from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $91.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $51.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.65. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $51.20 and a 52-week high of $75.97. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.59.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $717.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.11 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 24.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. On average, analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.40%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

(Get Rating)

National Fuel Gas Co is a holding company, which engages in the production, gathering, transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment seeks to discover and produce raw materials.