132,545 Shares in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 132,545 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 458.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $83.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.47. 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 company has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

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.