Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,615 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,994 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 930,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,441,000 after purchasing an additional 93,780 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 125.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,757 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 5,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the topic of several research reports. Argus raised National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of National Fuel Gas stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 81,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. This represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.1 %

NFG opened at $69.49 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $70.12. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.79, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.77.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 254.32%.

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.