National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Position Reduced by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in National Fuel Gas Company by 8.4%, now holding 156,458 shares worth approximately $12.39 million.
• National Fuel Gas reported quarterly earnings of $1.64 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting a 27.4% year-over-year revenue increase despite a revenue shortfall compared to estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.535 per share payable on October 15th, yielding an annualized dividend of 2.4% with a payout ratio of 80.45%.

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,458 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 14,420 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.17% of National Fuel Gas worth $12,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NFG. Zacks Research downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Bank of America upgraded National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NFG traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.84. 523,750 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,529. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $86.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.36. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61. National Fuel Gas Company has a twelve month low of $58.82 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $531.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.12 million. National Fuel Gas had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.The business's revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. Equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

National Fuel Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.