Inspire Investing LLC Sells 214 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,478 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,994 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 11.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 930,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,441,000 after acquiring an additional 93,780 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 125.4% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 38.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,757 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 5,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total transaction of $625,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. This trade represents a 10.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.1 %

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $69.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.32. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $70.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.73. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.79, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.64.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

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

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.