National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Sells $23,724.00 in Stock

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.72, for a total transaction of $23,724.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 16,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $857,227.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

National Fuel Gas stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.59. 272,813 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 607,145. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $58.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.75.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $525.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $664.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 21.58%. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 21.4% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,015 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 40,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,211 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,490,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 21,518 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th.

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.