Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Makes New Investment in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,043 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,277,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 51,333 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,435 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 79,619 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,559 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 7,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 1.0 %

NFG stock opened at $78.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.00. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $51.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of -558.41 and a beta of 0.57.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,471.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.67.

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.