Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 141,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 25,236 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $11,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 105.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 184.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 914 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NFG. KeyCorp began coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $77.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.22. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12-month low of $75.85 and a 12-month high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.96%.

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.