Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases 20,682 Shares of National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P significantly increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 532.8%, owning 24,564 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• National Fuel Gas recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.535, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.52, with a payout ratio of 80.45%.
• Despite positive earnings performance, Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold," and an increased target price of $107.00 from Bank of America.

Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 532.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,564 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 20,682 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management grew its stake 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 worth $170,515,000 after buying an additional 491,890 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in National Fuel Gas by 15.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,174,783 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $93,031,000 after buying an additional 155,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,104,852 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $87,493,000 after purchasing an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 989,487 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $60,043,000 after purchasing an additional 43,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $75,315,000 after purchasing an additional 460,100 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE NFG traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $86.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 614,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,663. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.14 and a 200 day moving average of $80.83. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $58.50 and a twelve month high of $89.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.65. 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 (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business 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 earnings per share. National Fuel Gas's revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. 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 currently 80.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.