National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $94.43 and last traded at $94.0910, with a volume of 158590 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $92.41.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank set a $101.00 target price on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.55.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.15. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $651.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 105.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.