National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

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

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $71.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.34. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $73.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of -513.53 and a beta of 0.64.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 represents a 10.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. This represents a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MQS Management LLC boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.0% during the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 38.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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.