National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lessened its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 54.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,593 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 12,672 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth about $221,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 331.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,161 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 71,036 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 26,714 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 11.5% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 92,024 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NFG. 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 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 1.0 %

NFG stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.37. The company had a trading volume of 541,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,294. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.77 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.14. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $65.06.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 254.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. This trade represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,439.07. This represents a 31.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,232 shares of company stock valued at $1,945,367. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company's stock.

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.