National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.52

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.515 per share by the oil and gas producer on Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 55 consecutive years. National Fuel Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 33.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect National Fuel Gas to earn $5.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.5%.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.61. 590,517 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 534,119. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.56.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.62 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 16.42%. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at $498,496.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 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.