National Fuel Gas Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.52 (NYSE:NFG)

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 13th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.515 per share by the oil and gas producer on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%.

National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 55 years. National Fuel Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 25.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect National Fuel Gas to earn $7.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.4%.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.06. 108,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 505,307. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $50.44 and a 12 month high of $76.26. 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 $70.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.12. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of -528.00 and a beta of 0.57.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Company 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.