National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• National Fuel Gas reported EPS of $1.22, beating the $1.04 consensus estimate by $0.18. Revenue increased 2.5% year over year, while EPS matched the year-ago quarter.
• Shares fell 2.6% to $76.62 during Wednesday trading despite the earnings beat.
• The company’s quarterly dividend is $0.555 per share, equivalent to $2.22 annually and a 2.9% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $105.50 target price.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.18, Zacks reports. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:NFG traded down $2.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,355,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,548. The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $74.92 and a one year high of $97.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.07 and a 200 day moving average of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.36.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.5550 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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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