Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Makes New Investment in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,140 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $67,393,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $61,837,000 after purchasing an additional 279,857 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $16,906,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at $14,486,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 62.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 458,112 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,557,000 after purchasing an additional 176,290 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on 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. Bank of America raised National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.1%

National Fuel Gas stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.72. The stock had a trading volume of 249,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,104. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $56.29 and a twelve month high of $89.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $84.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.59.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.15% and a net margin of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is 80.45%.

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.