Morse Asset Management Inc Acquires 14,110 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 3,320.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,535 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 14,110 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,228,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 15.2% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,541,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 152.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,909,000 after acquiring an additional 20,726 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 51.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 21,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 26.6% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 127,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,738,000 after acquiring an additional 26,737 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 brokerages have issued reports on NFG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $101.00 price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:NFG opened at $94.63 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $69.93 and a one year high of $97.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.15. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 27.65%.The company had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.