New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $8.23 Million Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,564 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 19,332 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $8,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NFG. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 458.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NFG shares. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.75. The stock had a trading volume of 39,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 798,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.62. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $75.17 and a twelve month high of $97.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.53. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

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.