Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Acquires 773 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,424 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1,676.0% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 444 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 566.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NFG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $60.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Argus lowered their target price on National Fuel Gas from $76.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $50.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.78. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $50.25 and a fifty-two week high of $75.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.67.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $717.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $697.11 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 24.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. Analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 30.40%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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National Fuel Gas Co is a holding company, which engages in the production, gathering, transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment seeks to discover and produce raw materials.