DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 1,080 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale reduced its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,220 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,313,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $715,178,000 after acquiring an additional 104,587 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,595,437 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $139,427,000 after purchasing an additional 62,009 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.0% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,533,482 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $137,289,000 after buying an additional 24,800 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,732,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $93,910,000 after buying an additional 550,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,320,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,956,000 after buying an additional 96,410 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com cut National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. Bank of America started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Insider Activity

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total value of $103,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,496.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $59.47 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $63.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.50 and a 200 day moving average of $57.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 16.42%. The firm had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 59.71%.

National Fuel Gas 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.