Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Makes New Investment in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 7,866 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 159,953 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,667,000 after purchasing an additional 36,913 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 220,730 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,480,000 after buying an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 79.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth about $138,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $81.71 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $75.17 and a 12 month high of $97.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07. The company has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 30.83%.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.