New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 16,324 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,872 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 16,324 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of National Fuel Gas worth $2,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 4.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 76,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,960,000 after buying an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 40,412 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,098,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 30.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 4,467 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 28.1% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 264,254 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $13,435,000 after buying an additional 57,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 206.8% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,527 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 9,792 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:NFG traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $55.75. The stock had a trading volume of 528,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.58. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $56.30. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.43 and its 200-day moving average is $50.84. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.63.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $629.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.33 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 23.84%. National Fuel Gas's revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.495 per share. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.29%.

National Fuel Gas Company 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.