National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $68.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $70.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.22 and a 200-day moving average of $61.03.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 3.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 254.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Fuel Gas

In related news, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $1,216,257.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,439.07. This trade represents a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. This represents a 10.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 11.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 930,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,441,000 after purchasing an additional 93,780 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 262.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 318,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,237,000 after buying an additional 230,332 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 19.1% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 79,584 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after buying an additional 12,744 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,917 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.