Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys New Stake in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 88,384 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,824,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the second quarter valued at about $517,000. Kendall Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,663,000. Commerce Bank bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at $886,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE NFG opened at $82.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.55. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $75.17 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 26.97%.National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 30.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

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.