AlphaQuest LLC Has $3.73 Million Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 48.2% during the first quarter, owning 47,125 shares valued at approximately $3.73 million.
• National Fuel Gas recently reported $1.64 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.50, while the revenue increased by 27.4% compared to the previous year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.535 from the prior $0.52, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 48.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,125 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 15,330 shares during the quarter. National Fuel Gas accounts for approximately 0.4% of AlphaQuest LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.05% of National Fuel Gas worth $3,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 24.2% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 686,559 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $54,373,000 after purchasing an additional 133,555 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 532.8% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 24,564 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 20,682 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its position in National Fuel Gas by 72.7% during the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 32,788 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,801 shares during the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter valued at $373,000. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the first quarter valued at about $347,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of National Fuel Gas stock traded down $0.2550 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.1250. The company's stock had a trading volume of 450,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 654,571. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $58.50 and a one year high of $89.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The business's fifty day moving average price is $86.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.72.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.The firm had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.45%.

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.