Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Invests $328,000 in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,543 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,804,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 19.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $200,830,000 after purchasing an additional 641,010 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 8,630.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 336,139 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,864,000 after purchasing an additional 332,289 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $684,699,000 after purchasing an additional 311,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,042,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $52,302,000 after purchasing an additional 193,910 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NFG stock opened at $54.38 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.50. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $57.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.29%.

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.