National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Stock Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.56 and traded as high as $81.82. National Fuel Gas shares last traded at $81.7090, with a volume of 761,246 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NFG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.49 and a 200-day moving average of $83.34.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%. The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.5550 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.83%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 4,343 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,541 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 11,371 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration, production, gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of natural gas. Its operations span the natural gas value chain, with an emphasis on resources and infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin.

Through its exploration and production business, National Fuel develops natural gas reserves primarily in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. Its pipeline and storage operations transport and store natural gas for utilities, marketers and other customers, while its gathering systems connect production wells to larger transmission networks.

National Fuel also operates a regulated natural gas utility that distributes gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in portions of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.