Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Acquires 442 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 134.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas by 8.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,771,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $724,553,000 after acquiring an additional 892,065 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,679,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $501,181,000 after buying an additional 139,734 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 4.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,980,876 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $413,781,000 after buying an additional 321,988 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 26.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,227,805 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $165,780,000 after buying an additional 671,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 0.6% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,446,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,627,000 after buying an additional 14,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NFG traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 345,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,863. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.51 and a 200 day moving average of $52.30. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $48.60 and a twelve month high of $66.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business had revenue of $368.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th were paid a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 28th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NFG. Scotiabank upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th.

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 in California and in the Appalachian region of the United States.