28,957 Shares in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Purchased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 28,957 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,236,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:NFG opened at $81.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.55. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1 year low of $75.17 and a 1 year high of $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%.The company had revenue of $537.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.