National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.18, Zacks reports. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:NFG traded down $2.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.62. 2,355,234 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,035,548. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.36. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $74.92 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.5550 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.