Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Stock Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,369,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 76,275 shares during the period. National Fuel Gas accounts for 1.3% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 1.44% of National Fuel Gas worth $128,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $7,086,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 61,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 28,293 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 315,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,911,000 after purchasing an additional 24,988 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth about $63,863,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 294.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $82.43 on Friday. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $75.17 and a twelve month high of $97.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.04%.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.