National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $73.90 and last traded at $73.83, with a volume of 224118 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on NFG shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus raised National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.85. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -525.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is -1,471.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. The trade was a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of National Fuel Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.0% during the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently 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.