Greenleaf Trust Takes $259,000 Position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Greenleaf Trust bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $146,502,000 after buying an additional 117,351 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,447,665 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $87,844,000 after buying an additional 70,332 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,393,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,104,852 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $87,493,000 after purchasing an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.8%

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $82.81 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.17. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $56.29 and a twelve month high of $86.45.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 497.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NFG. Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America increased their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.

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