American Century Companies Inc. Buys 3,587 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42,719 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 3,587 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,055 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 54,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 169.5% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 46,838 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 29,458 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,352 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NFG opened at $73.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -522.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $51.46 and a 1 year high of $80.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.42.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,471.43%.

National Fuel Gas 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.