Equity Investment Corp Has $74.88 Million Holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Equity Investment Corp trimmed its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,233,990 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 11,421 shares during the quarter. Equity Investment Corp owned approximately 1.36% of National Fuel Gas worth $74,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,698 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth approximately $957,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth approximately $1,277,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the third quarter worth approximately $716,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.00.

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Insider Transactions at National Fuel Gas

In other news, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. The trade was a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,101,459.02. The trade was a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE NFG traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 815,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,846. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of -536.96 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.25. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $48.32 and a 1-year high of $75.21.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is -1,471.43%.

National Fuel Gas 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.