Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $2.63 Million Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 34,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,629,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 30.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 159,953 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $12,667,000 after acquiring an additional 36,913 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth about $247,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 220,730 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,480,000 after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 79.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth about $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.3%

NFG opened at $83.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.20. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $75.17 and a one year high of $97.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.41.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. National Fuel Gas’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.