National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NFG. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NFG stock traded down $1.82 on Friday, reaching $83.64. 464,086 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,102. The company has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.50, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50 day moving average price is $81.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.10. 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 has a twelve month low of $53.88 and a twelve month high of $86.53.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,122 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at $900,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,393,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $1,086,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $862,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

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.