Evergreen Capital Management LLC Acquires 274 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,765 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $156,807,000 after purchasing an additional 85,950 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $146,502,000 after buying an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,447,665 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,844,000 after buying an additional 70,332 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $67,393,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,906,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NFG. StockNews.com cut National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $79.01 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $51.81 and a 52-week high of $80.14. The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -564.32 and a beta of 0.61. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.37.

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

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently -1,471.43%.

National Fuel Gas 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.