Fifth Third Bancorp Has $428,000 Position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,408 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 486 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $900,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 82,185 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,508,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 67.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $683,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $288,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $84.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.28. The company has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.54, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $53.88 and a fifty-two week high of $84.66.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 479.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.33.

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.