Foster & Motley Inc. Grows Holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 65.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,380 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 30,021 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 6.2% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 53,460 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,873,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 4.9 %

NYSE:NFG traded down $3.05 on Thursday, hitting $59.33. 691,622 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,676. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $63.54.

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

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 59.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on 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. StockNews.com lowered National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock 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.