National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.88 and last traded at $61.83, with a volume of 17498 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $60.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of 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.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $59.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.92. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $417.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.62 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at $498,496.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth about $1,748,000. Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,242,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $66,730,000 after acquiring an additional 269,441 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 478.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 86,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,650,000 after acquiring an additional 71,612 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,375 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,313,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $715,178,000 after acquiring an additional 104,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

About National Fuel Gas

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.