Informed Momentum Co LLC Takes Position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Key Points

• Informed Momentum Co LLC has made a new investment of approximately $4.37 million in National Fuel Gas Company by purchasing 55,155 shares in the first quarter.
• National Fuel Gas reported earnings of $1.64 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while revenues were up 27.4% year-over-year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.535 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders with an annualized yield of 2.4%.

Informed Momentum Co LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 55,155 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $4,368,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC owned about 0.06% of National Fuel Gas as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth $203,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,184 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 18.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,908 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth $259,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 29,652.6% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 5,653 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Two 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $88.01. The company had a trading volume of 532,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,011. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1 year low of $58.30 and a 1 year high of $89.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.79.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.