VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $27.05 Million Investment in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems has made a new investment in National Fuel Gas Company, purchasing approximately $27.05 million for 319,320 shares during the second quarter.
• National Fuel Gas recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.535 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 80.45%.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for National Fuel Gas, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 319,320 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $27,050,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.35% of National Fuel Gas at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in National Fuel Gas in the first quarter worth about $55,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NFG. Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research downgraded National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Scotiabank downgraded National Fuel Gas from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded National Fuel Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

National Fuel Gas Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:NFG opened at $85.69 on Monday. 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 $58.82 and a fifty-two week high of $94.13. The stock's 50-day moving average is $87.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.23. The stock has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.58.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 11.15%.The company had revenue of $531.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. National Fuel Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-6.950 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas's payout ratio is presently 80.45%.

About National Fuel Gas

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.

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