Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $338,000 Investment in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,263 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 29.6% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,153,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $170,515,000 after acquiring an additional 491,890 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 93.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 951,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $75,315,000 after acquiring an additional 460,100 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 98.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $56,672,000 after acquiring an additional 355,800 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth approximately $20,892,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NFG shares. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $87.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average is $85.61 and its 200 day moving average is $79.92. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $58.32 and a 52 week high of $89.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.45%.

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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