National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Short Interest Update

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,065,308 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 3,404,002 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 790,683 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $101.00 price objective on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NFG traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.92. 384,964 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 813,026. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.12. National Fuel Gas has a 12-month low of $69.93 and a 12-month high of $97.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.57.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $651.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.70 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 29.85%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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.