National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $83.40 and last traded at $83.14, with a volume of 246242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -593.82 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.08.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 479.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 243.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 102,672 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 72,802 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,579,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,894 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

About National Fuel Gas

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.