VELA Investment Management LLC Grows Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 33.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,892 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $3,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth $710,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,983,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at $4,614,000. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,101,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth approximately $63,863,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.0%

NFG opened at $83.29 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.36 and its 200-day moving average is $84.39. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52-week low of $75.17 and a 52-week high of $97.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.