Insider Selling: National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Sells 1,700 Shares of Stock

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,496.31. 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 $58.95 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $61.56. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.12.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.62 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,955 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,287,000 after acquiring an additional 31,530 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 27,487 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 5,431 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $49,804,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 263,689 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,229,000 after purchasing an additional 20,203 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th.

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.