Foster & Motley Inc. Invests $6.04 Million in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 78,230 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,040,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $78,210,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $214,000. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $231,309,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Focused Alpha LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $615,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $83.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.55. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.17 and a 52 week high of $97.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%.National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

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.