Insider Selling: National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Sells $103,309.00 in Stock

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total value of $103,309.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,496.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $60.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 EPS 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 return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 16.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,313,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $715,178,000 after buying an additional 104,587 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,595,437 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $139,427,000 after purchasing an additional 62,009 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.0% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,533,482 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $137,289,000 after purchasing an additional 24,800 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 46.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,732,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $93,910,000 after buying an additional 550,153 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 7.9% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,320,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,956,000 after buying an additional 96,410 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.