National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,859 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2,307.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 727,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,773,000 after purchasing an additional 697,434 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $200,830,000 after purchasing an additional 641,010 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8,630.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 336,139 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,864,000 after purchasing an additional 332,289 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,699,000 after purchasing an additional 311,599 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3,666.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 166,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $8,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NFG shares. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised their target price on National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NFG stock opened at $53.81 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $56.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.67 and its 200-day moving average is $50.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $525.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 21.58%. The company’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.51%.

About National Fuel Gas

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. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields.