National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Bank of America from $77.00 to $85.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

NFG has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG traded down $1.32 on Friday, reaching $81.85. The stock had a trading volume of 369,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,387. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $53.03 and a fifty-two week high of $83.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.83 and a 200-day moving average of $71.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -584.61 and a beta of 0.61.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. The company had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 479.07%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,285 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 15,598 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.