Short Interest in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Expands By 19.4%

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,065,308 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 3,404,002 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 790,683 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. State Street Corp increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,035,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $343,962,000 after acquiring an additional 132,855 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,295,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $194,427,000 after purchasing an additional 46,616 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 103.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,138,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $197,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,067 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,816,217 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $145,446,000 after purchasing an additional 121,099 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 653.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,582,782 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $126,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:NFG traded down $0.88 on Tuesday, reaching $94.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,146,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,069. National Fuel Gas has a 12-month low of $69.93 and a 12-month high of $97.06. The company has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

About National Fuel Gas

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.