Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Invests $347,000 in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. invested approximately $347,000 in National Fuel Gas Company, acquiring 4,413 shares in the first quarter.
• National Fuel Gas recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.52 to $0.535, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• The company reported $1.64 EPS for the last quarter, beating analysts' expectations, and has set FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.500 EPS.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,413 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 541.5% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 168,807 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $13,356,000 after acquiring an additional 142,493 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas during the 1st quarter worth $8,267,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,174,783 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $93,031,000 after purchasing an additional 155,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in National Fuel Gas by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,035 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.4%

National Fuel Gas stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.61. The stock had a trading volume of 139,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,092. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12 month low of $58.50 and a 12 month high of $89.82. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.54, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $86.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $531.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The firm's 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 analysts expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

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