M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires 7,599 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth $748,569,000. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 1.1% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,589,824 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $243,340,000 after buying an additional 28,755 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,177,958 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $110,686,000 after buying an additional 42,108 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 35.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,072,487 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $100,771,000 after buying an additional 282,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 947,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $89,033,000 after buying an additional 24,003 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock opened at $74.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.36. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1-year low of $73.01 and a 1-year high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. 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. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.46% and a return on equity of 17.95%. The business had revenue of $467.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.20 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.5550 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 31.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company is a diversified natural gas business founded in 1902 and headquartered in Williamsville, New York. Its operations span natural gas production, gathering and transportation, storage, and local distribution. Through Seneca Resources, the company explores for and produces natural gas, primarily in the Appalachian region. Its pipeline and storage businesses gather, transport, and store natural gas, connecting production areas with markets and other pipeline systems. National Fuel Gas also distributes natural gas to homes and businesses in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.