Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,924 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,719 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.
Several brokerages have weighed in on NFG. StockNews.com downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised shares of National Fuel Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.00.
Read Our Latest Research Report on NFG
In other news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at $5,101,459.02. This represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at $498,496.31. This represents a 17.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,232 shares of company stock worth $1,945,367. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $60.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.04. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $65.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.04 and a beta of 0.63.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is 254.32%.
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.
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