National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its National Fuel Gas stake by 1.3% in the second quarter, while several major institutions—including BlackRock and Energy Income Partners—established new positions. Institutional investors collectively own 73.96% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: National Fuel Gas has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $105.50 price target, despite recent downgrades from Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen.
• Shares rose 1.2% to $81.68, well below their 52-week high of $97.06. The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.54 versus $1.44) but reported revenue of $537.5 million, below analyst expectations.

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,756 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,428 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of National Fuel Gas worth $8,088,211 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $748,569,000. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $231,309,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,415,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth $78,210,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,340,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NFG shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:NFG traded up $0.96 on Tuesday, hitting $81.68. 281,404 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,518. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 3.07. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.17 and a 52 week high of $97.06.

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

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company NYSE: NFG is a diversified energy company with operations spanning natural gas exploration and production, pipeline transportation and storage, and utility distribution. Through its subsidiaries, the company develops, produces, gathers, stores and transports natural gas, primarily serving markets in the northeastern United States.

National Fuel's exploration and production business is operated through Seneca Resources Company, which focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Appalachian region, including the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.