National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Insider Sells $625,800.00 in Stock

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at $5,101,459.02. The trade was a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $61.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.90 and a beta of 0.63. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $65.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 254.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 220,869 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after buying an additional 55,152 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 176.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,046 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 13,425 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,052,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $914,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

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.