National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG stock opened at $61.07 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $65.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.40 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.32.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 254.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. This trade represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. The trade was a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 30,021 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.2% during the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 21,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.