Evergreen Capital Management LLC Makes New $718,000 Investment in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,748,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 263,689 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,229,000 after purchasing an additional 20,203 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 27.7% during the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,242,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $66,730,000 after buying an additional 269,441 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 478.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 86,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,650,000 after buying an additional 71,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 12.6% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,375 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,004,000 after buying an additional 14,604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NFG. StockNews.com lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG opened at $60.05 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.10. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $61.56. The company has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued 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. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $417.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.62 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

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.