Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 7,242 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lowered its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 63.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 7,242 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 105.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 184.8% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 49.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 914 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NFG. Weiss Ratings upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $77.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.81 and a 200 day moving average of $85.14. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.85 and a 52 week high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.96%.

National Fuel Gas 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.