National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Holdings Decreased by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,541 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 962 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 44.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,498,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $151,416,000 after acquiring an additional 765,236 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 159.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 880,434 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $47,711,000 after purchasing an additional 541,176 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 194.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 378,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,516,000 after buying an additional 249,967 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 262.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 318,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,237,000 after buying an additional 230,332 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter valued at about $10,741,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NFG opened at $60.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.84 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.32. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $65.06.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 254.32%.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,101,459.02. This trade represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. This represents a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,232 shares of company stock valued at $1,945,367. Insiders own 1.55% 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.