Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 99,778 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 27,735 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $6,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $156,807,000 after acquiring an additional 85,950 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,918 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,817,000 after purchasing an additional 7,830 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 220,869 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,386,000 after purchasing an additional 55,152 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 214,098 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $12,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 159,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,694,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NFG opened at $78.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.33. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $51.46 and a 1-year high of $79.49. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of -562.85 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.70.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.22. National Fuel Gas had a positive return on equity of 15.96% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. National Fuel Gas’s payout ratio is currently -1,471.43%.

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.