Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 5,399 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,335 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 5,399 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.05% of National Fuel Gas worth $2,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $67,393,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $16,906,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth $9,067,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $146,502,000 after acquiring an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NFG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.33.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG traded down $1.78 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.88. 341,518 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 557,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. National Fuel Gas has a 52-week low of $53.03 and a 52-week high of $84.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.98. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -584.82 and a beta of 0.62.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 479.07%.

About National Fuel Gas

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.