National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Position Trimmed by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 167,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.18% of National Fuel Gas worth $13,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,153,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $170,515,000 after buying an additional 491,890 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $61,837,000 after purchasing an additional 279,857 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 989,487 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $60,043,000 after purchasing an additional 43,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 98.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,672,000 after buying an additional 355,800 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NFG stock opened at $87.73 on Friday. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $58.32 and a 12 month high of $89.82. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business's 50 day moving average is $85.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.92.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NFG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.67.

About National Fuel Gas

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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