National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Bought by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,660 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 225.7% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,303 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 9,219 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 38.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 4.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,692 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 205,561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $12,459,000 after purchasing an additional 33,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Insider Transactions at National Fuel Gas

In other news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at $5,101,459.02. This represents a 10.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. This trade represents a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NFG opened at $71.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $73.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -513.22 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,471.32%.

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.