Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 31,300 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 24.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,461 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 31,300 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of National Fuel Gas worth $12,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $862,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $9,067,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,494 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,972,000 after buying an additional 8,086 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 54,828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,360 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG traded down $0.91 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.60. The stock had a trading volume of 493,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,931. The stock has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 203.73, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $56.29 and a one year high of $89.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.74 and a 200-day moving average of $77.49.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 497.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.33.

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.