Inspire Investing LLC Sells 214 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,478 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,698 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter valued at $957,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter valued at $1,277,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter valued at $716,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 76.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,790 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 13,739 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on NFG shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.1 %

NFG stock opened at $69.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.73. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $70.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 85.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.64.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 254.32%.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at $5,101,459.02. This represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,439.07. The trade was a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.