Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stock Holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 254,201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 9,131 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.28% of National Fuel Gas worth $13,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1.0% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 53,460 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% during the first quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 61,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 0.9% in the first quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 33,421 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,795,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NFG shares. 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. StockNews.com lowered National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total transaction of $348,554.31. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 9,903 shares in the company, valued at $542,981.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE NFG opened at $60.51 on Wednesday. National Fuel Gas has a 12-month low of $45.32 and a 12-month high of $60.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $417.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.62 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 16.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. Analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This is a boost 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 3.40%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.87%.

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.