Capital Fund Management S.A. Increases Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 72.7%, acquiring an additional 13,801 shares, bringing its total ownership to 32,788 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also recently adjusted their holdings in National Fuel Gas, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 73.96% of the company's stock.
• National Fuel Gas reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.64 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside an increase in quarterly revenue by 27.4% year-over-year.

Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 72.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,788 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,801 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Mariner LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 20,291 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 989,487 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $60,043,000 after acquiring an additional 43,656 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 51,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 163.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,464 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 152,887 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,277,000 after acquiring an additional 9,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:NFG traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.51. 151,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 636,154. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $86.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.02. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $58.50 and a twelve month high of $89.82. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.The company had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

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