Private Advisor Group LLC Buys Shares of 7,990 National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,990 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 275,194 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,420,000 after buying an additional 12,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 362,979 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,958,000 after buying an additional 4,361 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,939 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 4,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 46.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,183 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 2,266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NFG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $60.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $76.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $53.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $48.89 and a 12 month high of $72.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.67.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 25.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The business had revenue of $428.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.10 million. As a group, analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.495 per share. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 29th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil in California and in the Appalachian region of the United States.