Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Makes New $124,000 Investment in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,043 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,698 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter valued at $957,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter valued at $1,277,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter valued at $716,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock opened at $78.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -558.41 and a beta of 0.57. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $51.46 and a 1-year high of $79.35.

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, 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 company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently -1,471.43%.

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.