Vanguard Group Inc. Has $789.24 Million Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,006,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 74,731 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.14% of National Fuel Gas worth $789,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,067,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $156,807,000 after purchasing an additional 85,950 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $4,943,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 243.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 102,672 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 72,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 220,869 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after buying an additional 55,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NFG stock opened at $78.81 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $51.46 and a 52-week high of $79.49. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -562.85 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.51 and its 200-day moving average is $65.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,471.43%.

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.