MQS Management LLC Invests $459,000 in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kendall Capital Management increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 13,680 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 14.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,281 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 125.4% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 11.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 930,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,441,000 after purchasing an additional 93,780 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 261.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 173,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,390,000 after purchasing an additional 125,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE NFG opened at $60.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.75. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $61.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

National Fuel Gas 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.