National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Upgraded at KeyCorp

KeyCorp upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank set a $101.00 target price on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $95.72 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $70.93 and a 52-week high of $97.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.45.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $651.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.70 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 27.65%.The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.85%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth $5,228,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 51.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,922,000 after buying an additional 21,861 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 15.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,541,000 after buying an additional 13,620 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 152.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,909,000 after buying an additional 20,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 26.6% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 127,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,738,000 after buying an additional 26,737 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.