National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Shares Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management LLC dramatically increased its National Fuel Gas position by purchasing 626,272 additional shares in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 630,722 shares valued at approximately $47.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 73.96% of NFG shares. Analyst opinions are mixed, but the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $105.50 average price target.
• National Fuel Gas reported quarterly EPS of $1.54, exceeding estimates of $1.44, while revenue reached $537.5 million. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annualized yield.

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 14,073.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 630,722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 626,272 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.66% of National Fuel Gas worth $47,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 458.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 170.2% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 516 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1,032.8% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded National Fuel Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, August 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $79.52 on Friday. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $75.03 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.40.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.5550 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.83%.

National Fuel Gas Profile

National Fuel Gas Company NYSE: NFG is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

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