Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Stock Position in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 9,190 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.06% of National Fuel Gas worth $3,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,313,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $715,178,000 after buying an additional 104,587 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.4% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,595,437 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $139,427,000 after acquiring an additional 62,009 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 3.5% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,508,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $134,766,000 after acquiring an additional 84,305 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,732,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $93,910,000 after acquiring an additional 550,153 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,320,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,956,000 after purchasing an additional 96,410 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NFG shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on National Fuel Gas from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on National Fuel Gas from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $60.30 on Friday. National Fuel Gas has a one year low of $45.32 and a one year high of $61.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.89.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $417.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

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.