Energy Income Partners LLC Sells 140,239 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners LLC reduced its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 5.9% to approximately $178 million, making it the fund's seventh largest investment.
• National Fuel Gas recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.535, reflecting a 2.5% yield, and has a dividend payout ratio of 80.45%.
• Major analysts have mixed ratings on National Fuel Gas, with one analyst giving a "Strong Buy," while others issued ratings between "Hold" and "Buy," and the average target price is $96.67.

Energy Income Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,248,592 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 140,239 shares during the quarter. National Fuel Gas accounts for approximately 3.4% of Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Energy Income Partners LLC owned approximately 2.49% of National Fuel Gas worth $178,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NFG. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 29.6% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,153,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $170,515,000 after acquiring an additional 491,890 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 93.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 951,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $75,315,000 after acquiring an additional 460,100 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 98.9% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,672,000 after acquiring an additional 355,800 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $61,837,000 after buying an additional 279,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at $20,892,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NFG. Scotiabank restated 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. Bank of America upgraded National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE NFG traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.79. The stock had a trading volume of 539,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,143. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61. National Fuel Gas Company has a 1-year low of $58.50 and a 1-year high of $89.82. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $86.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.42.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.National Fuel Gas's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. 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, analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.535 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.