National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $81.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.57. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $59.01 and a 12 month high of $94.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.85.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced 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 company had revenue of $466.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in 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 period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.