Gries Financial LLC Sells 243 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Gries Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,107 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth approximately $1,748,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 263,689 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,229,000 after buying an additional 20,203 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 27.7% in the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,242,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $66,730,000 after buying an additional 269,441 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 478.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 86,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after buying an additional 71,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.6% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,375 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,004,000 after buying an additional 14,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.1 %

NFG traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.12. 46,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 532,626. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $60.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.93.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $417.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total value of $348,554.31. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 9,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,981.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

National Fuel Gas 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.