National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• National Fuel Gas Company has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five brokerages, with an average one-year price target of $96.67.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.64, surpassing analyst estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.535 set for payment on October 15th.
• Institutional investors hold 73.96% of National Fuel Gas shares, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.

Shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.6667.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NFG. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of National Fuel Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of National Fuel Gas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. 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. Finally, 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.

National Fuel Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NFG traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.35. 152,001 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 623,097. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.61. 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 has a 12-month low of $58.82 and a 12-month high of $89.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.44.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS 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 company 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 company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. Equities analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,035,345 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $343,962,000 after purchasing an additional 132,855 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 2.1% in the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,295,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $194,427,000 after acquiring an additional 46,616 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 29.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 491,890 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of National Fuel Gas by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,693,980 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $143,531,000 after acquiring an additional 4,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of National Fuel Gas by 1.0% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,510,907 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $127,989,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares during the period. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.