National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

NFG has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $64.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.48. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.30 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.25. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $64.30.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 254.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total value of $103,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,496.31. The trade was a 17.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NFG. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,277,000. Welch Group LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $526,000. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,595,437 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $139,427,000 after purchasing an additional 62,009 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $718,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,066,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.