Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 355,800 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 98.9%, acquiring an additional 355,800 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 715,645 shares valued at approximately $56.67 million.
• National Fuel Gas recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.535, up from its previous $0.52, representing an annualized yield of 2.49% despite a high payout ratio of 497.67%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with two rating it a hold, two a buy, and one a strong buy, while the average price target is $95.33.

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 98.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 355,800 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.79% of National Fuel Gas worth $56,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,360 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,719 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,592,000 after buying an additional 3,587 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 96,988 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,885,000 after buying an additional 20,861 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $67,393,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank raised 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.39. The stock had a trading volume of 319,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,737. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $56.29 and a 52 week high of $89.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.59.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 21.15%. The firm had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The business'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 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 issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. 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. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas's 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.