Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 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 grew its stake 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 SEC. The institutional investor owned 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 355,800 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.79% of National Fuel Gas worth $56,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised 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 acquiring an additional 70,332 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,393,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,104,852 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $87,493,000 after acquiring an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $86.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 200.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $56.29 and a 52 week high of $89.82. 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 50 day moving average of $84.23 and a 200 day moving average of $78.30.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. 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 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is currently 497.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.33.

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.

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