Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 10,145 National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,145 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $783,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,983,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 61,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,942,000 after buying an additional 28,293 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,863,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 212,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,928,000 after buying an additional 17,713 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth approximately $4,614,000. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG stock opened at $82.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.71 and a 200-day moving average of $84.49. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $75.17 and a one year high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis 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 30.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.