Principal Financial Group Trims Stake in National Fuel Gas

In a notable adjustment of its investment portfolio, Principal Financial Group Inc. has reduced its ownership in National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the latest filings with the SEC. Post-transaction, Principal Financial now holds 338,420 shares, having sold 6,027 shares during the period. The investment firm's recently sold shares were valued at approximately $17.57 million.

Other Investors Adjust Their Holdings

Principal Financial isn’t the only institutional investor recalibrating its stake in National Fuel Gas. Raymond James & Associates made a minor increase in their holdings by 0.4% in the first quarter, now owning 47,532 shares. CENTRAL TRUST Co bolstered their shares by 21.4% in the third quarter. Additionally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY augmented its shares by 50.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans upped its share count by 0.9% in the third quarter, and Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter.

Financial Analysts Adjust Price Targets

Amid these movements, StockNews.com adjusted its rating of National Fuel Gas, downgrading from a 'hold' to a 'sell' status in one of their latest reports.

Market Performance of National Fuel Gas

On Tuesday, NYSE:NFG opened at a share price of $47.73. The company's stock has seen a 52-week low of $46.58 and a high of $60.81. National Fuel Gas currently has a market cap of $4.40 billion, with a P/E ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45, and a beta of 0.65. Their debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.80, while liquidity ratios are reported at 0.41 for the quick ratio and 0.51 for the current ratio. The averages of the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages are $50.08 and $51.76, respectively.

National Fuel Gas disclosed a lower than expected earnings report with $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) in November, missing the consensus estimate by $0.05. Revenue also declined by 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. However, the company maintains a solid return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 21.94%. Predictions suggest that National Fuel Gas may post an EPS of $4.74 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement from National Fuel Gas

A quarterly dividend was announced recently by the company, with a payment made on January 12th to shareholders on record as of December 29th. The dividend issued was $0.495 per share, which on an annual basis amounts to $1.98, reflecting a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was December 28th, and the company has a dividend payout ratio of 38.30%.

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