Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Purchases Shares of 16,172 National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,172 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,393,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $61,837,000 after purchasing an additional 279,857 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $16,906,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $9,067,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $146,502,000 after purchasing an additional 117,351 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $81.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -578.89 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $53.03 and a 52 week high of $83.35.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is currently 479.07%.

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.

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