National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Price Target Increased to $75.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 32.93% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 1.0 %

NFG stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.42. 344,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,377. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $56.45.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm had revenue of $629.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 21,748 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $684,699,000 after purchasing an additional 311,599 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,674,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 298,410 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,971,000 after acquiring an additional 34,156 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 890,464 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,675,000 after purchasing an additional 162,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

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.