American Century Companies Inc. Has $5.81 Million Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 71.9%, owning 73,413 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million by the end of the quarter.
• The quarterly earnings released by National Fuel Gas showed an earnings per share of $1.64, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 27.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• National Fuel Gas recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.52 to $0.535 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.5%.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 71.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,413 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 30,694 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of National Fuel Gas worth $5,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 989,487 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $60,043,000 after acquiring an additional 43,656 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 26,314 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 9,281 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $242,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $672,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NFG stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.01. 548,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 522,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.42. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $58.50 and a one year high of $89.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61.

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

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio 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.