Cerity Partners LLC Sells 4,244 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,244 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. State Street Corp grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 20.7% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,298,076 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $504,599,000 after buying an additional 1,252,192 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 8.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,771,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $724,553,000 after buying an additional 892,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,631,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 2,307.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 727,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,773,000 after buying an additional 697,434 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 19.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,868,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $200,830,000 after buying an additional 641,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NFG shares. Scotiabank increased their price target 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 upgraded 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

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $53.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.63. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $56.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $664.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is 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.