National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Insider Sells $1,216,257.64 in Stock

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:NFG opened at $62.17 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $65.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.44 and its 200 day moving average is $58.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 77.41 and a beta of 0.63.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 254.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MQS Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 38.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 30,021 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 21,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NFG. StockNews.com cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

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.