Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Purchases 1,800 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NFG. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 105,975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,743,000 after acquiring an additional 24,374 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 34.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 44,898 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,437 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 15.4% during the second quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 18,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 2,447 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,732,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $93,910,000 after buying an additional 550,153 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at $5,101,459.02. The trade was a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,439.07. The trade was a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.0 %

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $61.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.74 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 has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $65.06.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 254.32%.

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.