Stifel Financial Corp Has $9.28 Million Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,887 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,598 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.17% of National Fuel Gas worth $9,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $67,393,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,906,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $9,067,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $146,502,000 after buying an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $156,807,000 after buying an additional 85,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on NFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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.com, National Fuel Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 4.1 %

NFG stock traded up $3.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 947,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,279. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of -589.10 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $53.03 and a 12 month high of $82.69.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently -1,471.43%.

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.