Cozad Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,233 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter valued at about $905,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 478.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 86,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after acquiring an additional 71,612 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 28.3% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,233 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 80,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,375 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,004,000 after purchasing an additional 14,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $58.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.87. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $63.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.77.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $372.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.49 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 59.71%.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 1,700 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,496.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com cut National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 19th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

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.