National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Short Interest Update

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,010,000 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the June 30th total of 3,560,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 511,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG stock opened at $58.07 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $58.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.87.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.38. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

Insider Transactions at National Fuel Gas

In other news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total value of $348,554.31. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 9,903 shares in the company, valued at $542,981.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.2% in the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 194.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 378,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,516,000 after purchasing an additional 249,967 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,274,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,816 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth about $342,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 11.5% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 92,024 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th.

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.