Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 8,403 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,028 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 8,403 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $3,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 458.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 170.2% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NFG. Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.9%

NFG stock opened at $80.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.40. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52-week low of $75.17 and a 52-week high of $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 27.48%.The business had revenue of $858.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $856.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.