Nottingham Advisors Inc. Invests $453,000 in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Key Points

• Nottingham Advisors Inc. has acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas Company, purchasing 5,715 shares valued at approximately $453,000 in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings on National Fuel Gas have varied, with Bank of America upgrading the stock from "underperform" to a "buy" rating and raising the price target from $85.00 to $107.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, rising from $0.52 to $0.535, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.47% despite a high payout ratio of 497.67%.

Nottingham Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,715 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NFG. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 223.2% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock traded down $1.11 on Thursday, hitting $87.22. The company had a trading volume of 530,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,161. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $84.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.43. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 202.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12-month low of $56.29 and a 12-month high of $89.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company's revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is 497.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts 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 report on Saturday, July 12th. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.33.

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.