Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company by 10.4%, acquiring an additional 4,795 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 50,848 shares worth approximately $4.03 million.
• National Fuel Gas recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising the payment from $0.52 to $0.535 per share, with a resulting annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Wall Street analysts show mixed sentiments, with ratings ranging from "hold" to "buy," while the consensus price target for the stock is $96.67.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,848 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 4,795 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.06% of National Fuel Gas worth $4,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 3.0% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,285 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.5% during the first quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.2% during the first quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 15,598 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,288 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.9% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,746 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NFG shares. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised 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 research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.67.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NFG traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 334,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,538. National Fuel Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.50 and a fifty-two week high of $89.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $86.41 and its 200-day moving average is $81.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.61.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 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. Equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio is 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.