National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,026 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 22.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 5,424 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,176 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 10.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 33,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 15.2% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 54,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after buying an additional 7,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $53.45 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $56.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 21.58%. The firm had revenue of $525.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $664.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 41.51%.

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.