National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $86.45 and last traded at $86.00, with a volume of 1026188 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $85.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.16. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 194.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 479.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NFG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,393,000. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,153,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $170,515,000 after acquiring an additional 491,890 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 951,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,315,000 after acquiring an additional 460,100 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 98.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,672,000 after acquiring an additional 355,800 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.