Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,003,012 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 581,143 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 2.21% of National Fuel Gas worth $158,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,393,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $61,837,000 after buying an additional 279,857 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,906,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 62.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 458,112 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,557,000 after purchasing an additional 176,290 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,067,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE NFG traded down $0.29 on Thursday, reaching $88.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 692,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $56.29 and a twelve month high of $89.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 204.70, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 earned $1.79 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 497.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

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.