Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 63.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 7,242 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 51.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 21,861 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 158.7% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 95,206 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $8,794,000 after purchasing an additional 58,399 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 74.9% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 521,928 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,210,000 after acquiring an additional 223,459 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 39.0% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 100,255 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,261,000 after acquiring an additional 28,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 31.4% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 45,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,168,000 after acquiring an additional 10,773 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $77.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1 year low of $75.85 and a 1 year high of $97.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.14.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NFG. Weiss Ratings raised National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have 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 $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Profile

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.