National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 57.0% to 5,860 shares, now valued at approximately $464,000.
• National Fuel Gas received upgrades from several brokerages, with Bank of America raising its rating from "underperform" to "buy" and increasing the price target from $85.00 to $107.00.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.535, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%, up from the previous $0.52 per share.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 57.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,860 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 7,764 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,122 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,184 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,908 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $259,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE NFG traded up $0.65 on Monday, hitting $87.30. 171,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 645,466. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.29 and a fifty-two week high of $89.82. The company has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.91.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $531.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $95.33.

National Fuel Gas 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.