Millennium Management LLC Increases Stock Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 32.6% in the first quarter, holding approximately 360,888 shares valued at $28.58 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on National Fuel Gas, with Bank of America upgrading the stock to "buy" and raising the price target to $107, while others have issued "hold" ratings.
• National Fuel Gas announced a $0.535 quarterly dividend to be paid on October 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.4% with a dividend payout ratio of 80.45%.

Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 32.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 360,888 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 88,758 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of National Fuel Gas worth $28,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. LSV Asset Management grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,153,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $170,515,000 after purchasing an additional 491,890 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 93.7% in the 1st 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 during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in National Fuel Gas by 98.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 715,645 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $56,672,000 after purchasing an additional 355,800 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,892,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,809,000. Institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Bank of America raised shares of National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

National Fuel Gas stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $88.20. The stock had a trading volume of 368,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,658. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average is $86.72 and its 200 day moving average is $82.14. National Fuel Gas Company has a one year low of $58.82 and a one year high of $89.82.

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

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 80.45%.

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.