National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $74.92 and last traded at $76.40, with a volume of 1,428,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 2.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.34.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.5550 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter valued at $748,569,000. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth $231,309,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,177,958 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $110,686,000 after purchasing an additional 42,108 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,072,487 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $100,771,000 after purchasing an additional 282,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,210,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.