Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 21st, 2023

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 358,618 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of National Fuel Gas worth $22,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NFG. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 5,424 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,176 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 33,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 54,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 7,259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.25% of the company’s stock.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $51.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.54. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $50.40 and a 1-year high of $75.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.11.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $717.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.11 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 23.69%. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 30.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on NFG shares. Raymond James cut shares of National Fuel Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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National Fuel Gas Co is a holding company, which engages in the production, gathering, transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment seeks to discover and produce raw materials.