National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Shares Purchased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 1,623.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 367,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 345,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.39% of National Fuel Gas worth $34,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,086,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 61,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 28,293 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 315,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,911,000 after purchasing an additional 24,988 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,863,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 294.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock opened at $81.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.48. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.17 and a 52 week high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp began coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.