National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 261.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,336 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.19% of National Fuel Gas worth $9,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. Beacon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 123.0% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 767 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG opened at $60.30 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $61.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.89. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

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.