South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Position in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its position in shares of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,948 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 8,800 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in National Fuel Gas were worth $1,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NFG. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in National Fuel Gas by 29.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 106,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,977,000 after purchasing an additional 24,321 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,589,824 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $243,340,000 after purchasing an additional 28,755 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 110,041 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in National Fuel Gas by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 153,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,382,000 after purchasing an additional 58,521 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 76,253 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,165,000 after buying an additional 18,994 shares in the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NFG. Wall Street Zen cut National Fuel Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. KeyCorp assumed coverage on National Fuel Gas in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National Fuel Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.50.

National Fuel Gas Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE NFG opened at $82.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.37. National Fuel Gas Company has a 52 week low of $75.17 and a 52 week high of $97.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.10. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 26.97% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $537.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. National Fuel Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.400-7.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a positive change from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

National Fuel Gas Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.