37,568 Shares in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) Acquired by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 37,568 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,884,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NFG. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,314 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 21,748 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,190,115 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $684,699,000 after buying an additional 311,599 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 7,516 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 437.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,750 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,296,000 after buying an additional 67,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 40,239 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NFG. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NFG traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.43. 519,983 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,778. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.80. National Fuel Gas has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $56.67. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.63.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $525.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas's revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is currently 41.51%.

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.