Focus Partners Wealth Invests $430,000 in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,091 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,291 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

National Fuel Gas stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.47. 480,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 559,490. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.67 and its 200-day moving average is $70.78. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $53.03 and a 12 month high of $83.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -589.04 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. The company had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 479.07%.

National Fuel Gas 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.