National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Sells $348,554.31 in Stock

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total transaction of $348,554.31. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 9,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,981.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $54.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.97. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $57.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.38. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm had revenue of $629.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NFG. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NFG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $49,804,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 19.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $200,830,000 after buying an additional 641,010 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8,630.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 336,139 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,864,000 after buying an additional 332,289 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,699,000 after buying an additional 311,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 27.7% during the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,242,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $66,730,000 after buying an additional 269,441 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.