Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 32,272 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 1,090.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,272 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NFG. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 316.7% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 355.1% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 405 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NFG. Zacks Research downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE NFG opened at $80.19 on Friday. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $59.01 and a one year high of $94.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.53 and a 200 day moving average of $84.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.46.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $456.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.68%.

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.