National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Stock Position Raised by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 673,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,226 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $53,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 240.7% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 58,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 41,657 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 20,320 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Mangrove Partners IM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 188.6% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 37,476 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 24,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $432,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $76.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.99. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.67 and a 52 week high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 28.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NFG. Zacks Research raised National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Profile

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.