National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,593 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 12,672 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.0% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,533,482 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $137,289,000 after acquiring an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,498,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $151,416,000 after purchasing an additional 765,236 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,274,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,086,000 after buying an additional 3,816 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,246,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $67,565,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 11.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 930,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,441,000 after buying an additional 93,780 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,101,459.02. The trade was a 10.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,439.07. This trade represents a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,232 shares of company stock worth $1,945,367. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $61.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.77 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.10. National Fuel Gas has a 12-month low of $45.32 and a 12-month high of $65.06.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 254.32%.

National Fuel Gas 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.