National Fuel Gas (NFG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.52 on April 15th

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 55 consecutive years. National Fuel Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 25.9% meaning 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 Trading Up 2.5 %

NFG stock opened at $76.49 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $76.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -546.32 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.19.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus upgraded National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

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.