Financial Advocates Investment Management Acquires Shares of 4,407 National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,407 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equity Investment Corp grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 972,745 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,803,000 after purchasing an additional 190,714 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,853,000. Inceptionr LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 10,201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 27,487 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 5,431 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 4,679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NFG. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG opened at $55.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.63. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $57.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 39.29%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields.