Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires 4,288 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 57.4%, acquiring an additional 4,288 shares, bringing its total holdings to 11,760 shares valued at approximately $931,000.
• National Fuel Gas has experienced significant interest from institutional investors, with over 73.96% of the stock owned by such entities, and multiple firms boosting their stakes by thousands of percent.
• The company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.64, exceeding analyst estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.535 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.5%.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 57.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,760 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 4,288 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NFG. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,019,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $61,837,000 after purchasing an additional 279,857 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $888,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 227.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,197 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 30,003 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 62,972 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,821,000 after buying an additional 37,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 553,004 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,561,000 after acquiring an additional 40,310 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. 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 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $85.39. The company had a trading volume of 381,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,101. The firm has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $58.50 and a 52 week high of $89.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.73.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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 forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.45%.

National Fuel Gas 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.