22,282 Shares in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Purchased by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 22,282 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth approximately $7,983,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 61,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 28,293 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $63,863,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 212,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $19,928,000 after buying an additional 17,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 294.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.0%

NFG opened at $81.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $75.17 and a 12 month high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%.The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas 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.