23,796 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC acquired 23,796 shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.96% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50, despite one recent downgrade to “sell.”
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.54 versus the $1.44 consensus estimate. It also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annual yield.

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,796 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,805,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 458.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 170.2% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 516 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1,032.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE NFG opened at $80.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.34. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52-week low of $75.03 and a 52-week high of $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.33 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.5550 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.83%.

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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