Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $736,000 in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,122 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 85,950 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,502,000 after acquiring an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,447,665 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,844,000 after acquiring an additional 70,332 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth $67,393,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.1%

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $81.29 on Wednesday. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $53.03 and a 1-year high of $83.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -580.60 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 479.07%.

About National Fuel Gas

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.