National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank set a $101.00 price objective on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NFG stock opened at $81.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.61. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $67.11 and a 1 year high of $94.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.27.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 22.86%.The company had revenue of $466.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 88.5% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during 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 purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 105.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.