New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth about $957,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the third quarter worth about $716,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 76.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,790 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after buying an additional 13,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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 raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock opened at $79.96 on Thursday. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $51.46 and a 1 year high of $80.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -571.10 and a beta of 0.57. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.08.

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 (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently -1,471.43%.

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.