National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) to Issue $0.52 Quarterly Dividend

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.515 per share by the oil and gas producer on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%.

National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 55 years. National Fuel Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 33.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect National Fuel Gas to earn $6.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.5%.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE NFG traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.02. The stock had a trading volume of 317,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,360. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.33 and a beta of 0.63. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $65.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $61.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.90.

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 dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $103,309.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,496.31. The trade was a 17.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. The trade was a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on NFG shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.00.

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.