Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 22,320 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,104,852 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 22,320 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.22% of National Fuel Gas worth $87,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 223.2% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.81. 582,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,760. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $55.93 and a twelve month high of $86.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.92.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 497.67%.

About National Fuel Gas

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.