Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 13,517 National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,517 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research lowered National Fuel Gas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Bank of America raised National Fuel Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $78.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.58 and a 200-day moving average of $84.64. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.58. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1 year low of $58.82 and a 1 year high of $94.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

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

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 80.45%.

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.