Quadrature Capital Ltd Acquires 5,352 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,265 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,352 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 21,748 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,699,000 after buying an additional 311,599 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8.3% in 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 period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $1,674,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 298,410 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,971,000 after buying an additional 34,156 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $54.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.85. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas has a 12-month low of $45.32 and a 12-month high of $57.60.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 39.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

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.