Scotiabank Raises National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Price Target to $72.00

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) had its target price lifted by Scotiabank from $67.00 to $72.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $53.20 on Thursday. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $57.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.77.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $525.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 21.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.51%.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 21,748 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,699,000 after acquiring an additional 311,599 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 7,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 437.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 67,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 40,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.