National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Acquired by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 125.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,732,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $93,910,000 after purchasing an additional 550,153 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,242,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $66,730,000 after buying an additional 269,441 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 194.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 378,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,516,000 after buying an additional 249,967 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,741,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 261.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 173,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,390,000 after acquiring an additional 125,336 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at $498,496.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NFG. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 2.8 %

NFG opened at $60.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.77. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.62 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 16.42%. National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.87%.

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. 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.