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

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 13th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.515 per share by the oil and gas producer on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend by an average of 4.1% per year 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 25.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect National Fuel Gas to earn $7.79 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 26.4%.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG opened at $78.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -562.85 and a beta of 0.57. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $51.46 and a 1-year high of $79.49.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NFG shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.67.

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.