National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Stock Position Raised by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,028 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,403 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $3,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NFG. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 458.0% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG stock opened at $80.90 on Friday. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $75.17 and a fifty-two week high of $97.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.37.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.85 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.555 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

National Fuel Gas 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.