National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Shares Acquired by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,360 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 21,673 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. owned about 0.07% of National Fuel Gas worth $4,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 223.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE NFG traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 892,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,605. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.29 and a fifty-two week high of $89.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $84.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.46.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm's revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is 80.45%.

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.