National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Given New $58.00 Price Target at Argus

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) had its price objective cut by Argus from $76.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on National Fuel Gas from $60.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James cut National Fuel Gas from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE NFG opened at $51.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $50.40 and a fifty-two week high of $75.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $717.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.11 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 24.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Fuel Gas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 0.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 22.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 5,424 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 12.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,176 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 10.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 33,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 15.2% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 54,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 7,259 shares in the last quarter. 72.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National Fuel Gas

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National Fuel Gas Co is a holding company, which engages in the production, gathering, transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment seeks to discover and produce raw materials.