HMS Capital Management LLC Invests $373,000 in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• HMS Capital Management acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company valued at approximately $373,000, reporting 5,097 shares bought in the 1st quarter.
• National Fuel Gas recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.535, leading to an annualized dividend of $2.14 and a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Research analysts have mixed opinions on NFG, with one firm upgrading the stock from "underperform" to "buy" and setting a target price of $107.00, while others maintain a "hold" rating.

HMS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,097 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $373,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NFG. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 29.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 491,890 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 93.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 951,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $75,315,000 after purchasing an additional 460,100 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 98.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 355,800 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $20,892,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NFG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. 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. Zacks Research cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE NFG traded down $0.2550 on Friday, hitting $87.1250. 450,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 652,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business's fifty day moving average is $86.07 and its 200 day moving average is $80.61. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $58.50 and a 52 week high of $89.82. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. National Fuel Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-6.950 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. This is a boost 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 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.