Silver Coast Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 2.5% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 1.2% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:NFG opened at $86.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $56.29 and a 12 month high of $89.82. The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.91.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $531.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 80.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

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.