Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $2.73 Million Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 26.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,510 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 12,328 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NFG. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,178 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 165.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,618 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $862,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,067,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 80,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,875,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Fuel Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $82.30. 131,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 565,709. The company's 50 day moving average price is $82.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.92. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $55.13 and a one year high of $86.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.38, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.62.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $729.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.81 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The business's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 497.67%.

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.