Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas Company, purchasing 2,959 shares valued at approximately $234,000 during the first quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.64, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.50, with a revenue of $531.83 million, which was below expectations.
• National Fuel Gas recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.535 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 80.45%.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,959 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NFG. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NFG. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NFG stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.58. 500,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 514,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.46. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $58.50 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 11.15% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. As a group, analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio 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.