National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:NFG traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.51. 448,770 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 558,376. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.28. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $53.88 and a 52-week high of $85.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% in 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. Quarry LP bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 223.2% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. 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.