Fortem Financial Group LLC Invests $914,000 in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $914,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG opened at $61.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 75.90 and a beta of 0.63. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $65.06.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 254.32%.

Insider Activity

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total value of $103,309.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at $498,496.31. This represents a 17.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,232 shares of company stock worth $1,945,367. Corporate 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.