XTX Topco Ltd Makes New Investment in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,634 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,190,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MQS Management LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 30,021 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 21,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $61.17 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $65.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 75.52 and a beta of 0.63.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 254.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $1,216,257.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,439.07. This trade represents a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at $5,101,459.02. This represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,232 shares of company stock worth $1,945,367. 1.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.