National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Stock Rating Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from “sell” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $105.50.
• For its latest quarter, National Fuel Gas reported EPS of $1.22, beating estimates of $1.04, while revenue of $467.85 million missed expectations. Revenue increased 2.5% year over year.
• The stock opened at $73.58 and was down 0.5%; institutional investors and hedge funds own about 74% of its shares.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

NFG has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised National Fuel Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. 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 Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE NFG opened at $73.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $73.43 and a 1-year high of $97.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.25.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.18. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%. The business had revenue of $467.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $472.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the second quarter valued at $710,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,983,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at about $2,629,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,343,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 75.5% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 91,770 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,962,000 after acquiring an additional 39,479 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company NYSE: NFG is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

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