National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NFG. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.81. The stock had a trading volume of 582,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,830. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 192.59, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $56.29 and a one year high of $86.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $82.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.17.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is 497.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.