Bank of America Corp DE Sells 57,911 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 440,311 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 57,911 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.49% of National Fuel Gas worth $26,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 49.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,291 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.22. 473,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,782. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -580.10 and a beta of 0.61. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $53.03 and a one year high of $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.41.

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

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is 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.