Foster & Motley Inc. Grows Stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,147 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $684,699,000 after purchasing an additional 311,599 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $200,830,000 after acquiring an additional 641,010 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,456,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $127,491,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,202,352 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $62,414,000 after acquiring an additional 22,043 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 855,669 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,418,000 after purchasing an additional 33,903 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NFG shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $53.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.63. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $56.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.83.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $525.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 14.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 41.51%.

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.