National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock opened at $86.00 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $53.88 and a 1-year high of $86.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 200.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.02.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 223.2% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

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.