National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,698 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 859 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 24,800 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 44.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,274,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,816 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.4% during the second quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,246,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $67,565,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 93,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,496.31. This trade represents a 17.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NFG opened at $63.97 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $65.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.98 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.69.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 254.32%.

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.