Bridgewater Associates LP Buys Shares of 5,337 National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,337 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 73,594 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,466,000 after purchasing an additional 31,655 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,291 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $1,550,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,736 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 10,914 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of National Fuel Gas from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Fuel Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $77.98. 485,848 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 552,500. National Fuel Gas has a 1-year low of $52.66 and a 1-year high of $80.14. The firm has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of -556.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was 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.