Synergy Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Synergy Asset Management LLC decreased its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 60.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,474 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 56,407 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $156,807,000 after buying an additional 85,950 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 117,351 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.1% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 70,332 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,393,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $61,837,000 after buying an additional 279,857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.3%

NFG stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 676,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,715. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52-week low of $53.88 and a 52-week high of $86.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 199.22, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.84.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $770.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is 479.07%.

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.