National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Purchased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,217 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 44.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,498,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $151,416,000 after acquiring an additional 765,236 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,918 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,817,000 after acquiring an additional 7,830 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 8.1% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 325,966 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $19,757,000 after purchasing an additional 24,564 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 33.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 220,869 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after purchasing an additional 55,152 shares during the period. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 159,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,694,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus raised National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE NFG opened at $75.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of -536.96 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.28. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $48.32 and a 1-year high of $75.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,471.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. The trade was a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.