Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 5,904 Shares of National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,624 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 5,904 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MQS Management LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 2.0% in the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.4% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 21,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus raised National Fuel Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NFG opened at $71.90 on Tuesday. National Fuel Gas has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $73.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of -513.53 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.63 and its 200 day moving average is $61.34.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,471.43%.

Insider Activity at National Fuel Gas

In other National Fuel Gas news, insider Donna L. Decarolis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.58, for a total value of $625,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,101,459.02. This trade represents a 10.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin I. Loweth sold 19,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total transaction of $1,216,257.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,439.07. This trade represents a 31.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.