Cerity Partners LLC Sells 4,759 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,013 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,759 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $3,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 223.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 656 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $89.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 207.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12-month low of $56.29 and a 12-month high of $89.82.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 497.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised National Fuel Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

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.