VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 330,120 shares of National Fuel Gas valued at approximately $25.5 million, acquiring about a 0.35% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 73.96% of the company.
• Analyst views are mixed, but National Fuel Gas holds a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $105.50.
• National Fuel Gas beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.54 versus $1.44 estimated and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.555 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% annualized yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 330,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $25,489,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.35% of National Fuel Gas as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $710,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,983,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $4,614,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $1,101,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the second quarter worth $2,629,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $83.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.36. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $75.17 and a one year high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is 30.83%.

National Fuel Gas Company Profile

National Fuel Gas Company NYSE: NFG is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.

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