HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.97 Million Holdings in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company by 15.5%, acquiring an additional 5,034 shares and bringing its total to 37,528 shares worth approximately $2.97 million.
• Several brokerages have recently provided mixed ratings for National Fuel Gas, with Bank of America upgrading the stock to buy and raising the price target to $107, while others like Wall Street Zen downgraded it to hold.
• National Fuel Gas declared a quarterly dividend of $0.535 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%, up from its previous quarterly dividend of $0.52.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,528 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,034 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $2,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NFG. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $170,515,000 after acquiring an additional 491,890 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $75,315,000 after acquiring an additional 460,100 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $56,672,000 after acquiring an additional 355,800 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 worth $61,837,000 after acquiring an additional 279,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth about $20,892,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE NFG traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $86.96. 358,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 624,693. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $86.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.50 and a fifty-two week high of $89.82.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $531.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-6.950 EPS. Analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.