ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 22,077 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its National Fuel Gas stake by 7.1% in the third quarter, buying 22,077 shares and bringing its total holdings to 331,089 shares valued at approximately $25.1 million.
• Institutional investors own nearly 74% of National Fuel Gas. Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish, with an average target price of $105.50 versus the stock’s reported price of $79.70.
• National Fuel Gas declared a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.22 payout and a 2.8% dividend yield.

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,089 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 22,077 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.35% of National Fuel Gas worth $25,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 170.2% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 516 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1,032.8% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 80.7% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 831 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG stock opened at $79.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50-day moving average is $80.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $75.03 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.5550 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.83%.

National Fuel Gas Profile

National Fuel Gas Company NYSE: NFG is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

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