Longbow Finance SA Invests $1.60 Million in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA has acquired 20,218 shares of National Fuel Gas Company, amounting to approximately $1.6 million in the first quarter, according to its recent SEC filing.
• The company's quarterly dividend has been increased to $0.535, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.45% despite a high dividend payout ratio of 497.67%.
• National Fuel Gas Company reported a net income of $2.39 EPS last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, while it had a revenue of $729.95 million, which was below expectations.

Longbow Finance SA acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,218 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,601,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 15,598 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,045 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:NFG traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.58. The stock had a trading volume of 412,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,124. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 201.35, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $56.29 and a twelve month high of $89.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 497.67%.

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.