National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Sold by Courier Capital LLC

Courier Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 29.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,792 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $492,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $684,699,000 after buying an additional 311,599 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $200,830,000 after buying an additional 641,010 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,224,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,430,000 after buying an additional 22,088 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,042,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $52,302,000 after buying an additional 193,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth $49,804,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NFG. Scotiabank increased their price target on National Fuel Gas from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 1.1 %

NFG stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.19. The company had a trading volume of 670,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,564. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.99. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $57.60.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 23.84%. National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. Analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total transaction of $348,554.31. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 9,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,981.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.55% 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.