National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Reaches New 12-Month High at $58.60

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.60 and last traded at $58.31, with a volume of 60976 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.77 and its 200-day moving average is $52.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $629.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total value of $348,554.31. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 9,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,981.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth $78,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 28.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.2% in the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 194.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 378,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,516,000 after purchasing an additional 249,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

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.