Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $156.81 Million Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,950 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $156,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 25,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,895 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,341,000. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 30,380 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,841,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,233 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG stock opened at $74.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -534.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.51. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $49.90 and a 52 week high of $76.26.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is -1,471.43%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields.