National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• National Fuel Gas shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, reaching $81.82 and last trading near $81.71, compared with a 50-day average of $80.56.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $105.50 target price, despite one recent downgrade to “Sell.”
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations ($1.54 versus $1.44) and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share, equal to a 2.7% annualized yield; institutional investors own nearly 74% of the stock.

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.56 and traded as high as $81.82. National Fuel Gas shares last traded at $81.7090, with a volume of 761,246 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded National Fuel Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $80.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.32.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $537.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.5550 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is currently 30.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth about $748,569,000. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth about $231,309,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth about $78,210,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,340,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,343,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company NYSE: NFG is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

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