New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,872 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 16,324 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of National Fuel Gas worth $2,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 166.4% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 690 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $95,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 28.9% during the third quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 3,436 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG stock opened at $55.57 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.38. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 39.29%.

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.