Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Purchases 790 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,848 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 15,147 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 12,444 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 18,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 4,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on National Fuel Gas from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.47. 84,345 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,963. National Fuel Gas has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $56.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.63.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $525.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $664.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 21.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.