National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Hits New 12-Month High at $59.96

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $59.96 and last traded at $59.80, with a volume of 97525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NFG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 40.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total transaction of $348,554.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 9,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,981.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $992,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 7,496 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,917 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 79,584 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,313,000 after acquiring an additional 12,744 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.