Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 52,316 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,623 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 52,316 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of National Fuel Gas worth $7,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,313,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $715,178,000 after purchasing an additional 104,587 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,508,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $134,766,000 after buying an additional 84,305 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,320,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,956,000 after purchasing an additional 96,410 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,242,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $66,730,000 after purchasing an additional 269,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,042,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $52,302,000 after purchasing an additional 193,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National Fuel Gas news, General Counsel Michael W. Reville sold 6,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.83, for a total value of $348,554.31. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 9,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,981.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NFG stock opened at $58.03 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.62. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $58.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.75 and a 200 day moving average of $52.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $629.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 23.84%. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Scotiabank upped their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th.

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.