National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $156,807,000 after acquiring an additional 85,950 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,918 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,817,000 after acquiring an additional 7,830 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 8.1% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 325,966 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,757,000 after acquiring an additional 24,564 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 33.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 220,869 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,386,000 after acquiring an additional 55,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 159,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,694,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NFG. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $74.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -529.40 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.83. National Fuel Gas has a 12-month low of $50.44 and a 12-month high of $76.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.