Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 169.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,838 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,458 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.05% of National Fuel Gas worth $2,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in National Fuel Gas by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 993 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 1.4% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 21,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NFG opened at $78.44 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $51.46 and a twelve month high of $79.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of -560.25 and a beta of 0.57.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is -1,471.43%.

National Fuel Gas 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.