The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 83,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $5,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,155 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $156,807,000 after buying an additional 85,950 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199,787 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,502,000 after purchasing an additional 117,351 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,447,665 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,844,000 after purchasing an additional 70,332 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,393,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 989,487 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,043,000 after purchasing an additional 43,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

National Fuel Gas stock opened at $82.51 on Thursday. National Fuel Gas has a fifty-two week low of $53.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.94. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -589.32 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.39.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.21. National Fuel Gas had a negative net margin of 0.53% and a positive return on equity of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $729.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently 479.07%.

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.