National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments lessened its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,603 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,575 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments owned about 0.07% of National Fuel Gas worth $3,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NFG. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 40,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 21,518 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,817 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.9% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NFG stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $54.87. The stock had a trading volume of 442,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,482. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.17 and its 200-day moving average is $50.88.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NFG. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

National Fuel Gas 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.