Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 21,748 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,699,000 after acquiring an additional 311,599 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 7,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 437.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 67,362 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 40,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock opened at $53.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.76. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $57.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $525.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 14.81%. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 41.51%.

National Fuel Gas 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.