Foster & Motley Inc. Has $4.78 Million Stock Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,673 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. owned about 0.07% of National Fuel Gas worth $4,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.5% during the first quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.2% during the first quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 15,598 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.9% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $87.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.36 and a 200-day moving average of $78.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $56.29 and a one year high of $89.82. The company has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 204.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 497.67%.

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.