National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Shares Acquired by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 114.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,859 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 56,917 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.12% of National Fuel Gas worth $8,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,393,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $61,837,000 after buying an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $16,906,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 62.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 458,112 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,557,000 after purchasing an additional 176,290 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $9,067,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NFG. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:NFG traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.31. The stock had a trading volume of 831,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,075. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $56.29 and a one year high of $94.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 205.37, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.01 and a 200 day moving average of $76.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 497.67%.

National Fuel Gas Company 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.