National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NFG. Scotiabank boosted their target price on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America began coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $63.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.96 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.64. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $65.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,496.31. The trade was a 17.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.0% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,533,482 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $137,289,000 after purchasing an additional 24,800 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 44.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,498,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $151,416,000 after purchasing an additional 765,236 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,274,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,816 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.4% in the second quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,246,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $67,565,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 11.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 930,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,441,000 after purchasing an additional 93,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

About National Fuel Gas

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.