Cerity Partners LLC Sells 4,244 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,244 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,699,000 after purchasing an additional 311,599 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,679,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $501,181,000 after acquiring an additional 139,734 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,980,876 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $413,781,000 after acquiring an additional 321,988 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $200,830,000 after acquiring an additional 641,010 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,456,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $127,491,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NFG. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE NFG opened at $53.45 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $56.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $525.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.495 per share. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.