Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 18,105 National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has acquired 18,105 shares of National Fuel Gas Company, valued at approximately $1.43 million, during the first quarter.
• The company reported a net margin of 11.15% and earnings per share of $1.64 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• National Fuel Gas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.535, equal to an annualized yield of 2.4%, payable on October 15th.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 18,105 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.8% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 35,242 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth $6,757,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 893,866 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $70,785,000 after purchasing an additional 59,667 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,113 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 10,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1,652.0% in the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 65,735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,206,000 after buying an additional 61,983 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, reaching $87.84. The stock had a trading volume of 523,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,529. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.36. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1 year low of $58.82 and a 1 year high of $89.82.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $531.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. National Fuel Gas's revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-6.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.45%.

National Fuel Gas Company 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.