Oxbow Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 59,954 National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 59,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter valued at $1,174,000. Optas LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 5.3% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 458.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $79.19 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.78 and its 200-day moving average is $84.53. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $75.17 and a twelve month high of $97.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $858.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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.