7,599 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Bought by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1,032.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 725 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.8%

NFG opened at $74.75 on Wednesday. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $73.01 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.35 and a 200-day moving average of $83.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.36.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $467.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.38 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 26.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.5550 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NFG shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company is a diversified natural gas business founded in 1902 and headquartered in Williamsville, New York. Its operations span natural gas production, gathering and transportation, storage, and local distribution. Through Seneca Resources, the company explores for and produces natural gas, primarily in the Appalachian region. Its pipeline and storage businesses gather, transport, and store natural gas, connecting production areas with markets and other pipeline systems. National Fuel Gas also distributes natural gas to homes and businesses in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.