Swiss National Bank Purchases 9,300 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 178,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of National Fuel Gas worth $16,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 653.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,582,782 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $126,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,742 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,415,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 103.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,138,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $197,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,067 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 521.0% during the fourth quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 1,105,979 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,545,000 after buying an additional 927,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,863,000. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $82.43 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $75.17 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.85 and its 200 day moving average is $84.44.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The firm had revenue of $858.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $856.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

About National Fuel Gas

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.