National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Shares Acquired by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,713 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,599 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.05% of National Fuel Gas worth $3,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.2% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,291 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $82.81 on Friday. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $55.93 and a twelve month high of $86.45. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $82.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.07.

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 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 2.58%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 497.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.00.

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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