Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,224 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 6,900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of National Fuel Gas worth $6,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. Donald L. Hagan LLC boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 15,598 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at about $900,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.9% during the first quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 82,185 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,508,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 67.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NFG traded up $1.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.58. 377,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 557,766. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.28. 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 Company has a twelve month low of $53.88 and a twelve month high of $85.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 198.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. During the same period 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, analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. 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 yield of 2.50%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is 479.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.33.

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.