National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Stake Raised by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 3.3%, making it the firm’s 9th largest position with approximately 1.3% of its total investment portfolio.
• National Fuel Gas recently reported earnings per share of $1.64, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.535, up from its previous dividend of $0.52.
• Analysts have differing views on National Fuel Gas, with Bank of America upgrading the stock to "buy" and raising the target price to $107, while Zacks lowered its rating to "hold."

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,495,867 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 48,202 shares during the period. National Fuel Gas makes up 1.3% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 1.66% of National Fuel Gas worth $118,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NFG. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 9,475.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in National Fuel Gas by 316.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NFG stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.71. The company had a trading volume of 406,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,238. The company's fifty day moving average is $86.27 and its 200 day moving average is $81.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.39. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.50 and a fifty-two week high of $89.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 business posted $0.99 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NFG shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.67.

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.