National Fuel Gas Company (NFG Quick QuoteNFG - Free Report) , with its rising earnings estimates, strategic investments, robust ROE and strong dividend history, offers a great investment opportunity in the Zacks Oil and Gas industry.

Let us focus on the reasons that make this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock a solid investment pick at the moment.

NFG’s Growth Projections & Surprise History
 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NFG’s fiscal 2025 and 2026 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 3.3% and 4.4%, respectively, over the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2025 revenues is pegged at $2.49 billion, which implies a rise of 28.1% from the fiscal 2024 reported sales figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $2.63 billion, which indicates a year-over-year increase of 5.8%.

It delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.27% in the last four quarters.

NFG’s Return on Equity
 

Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, NFG’s ROE is 15.96% compared with the sector’s 15.61%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its funds more constructively than its peers in the sector.

Dividend History of NFG
 

National Fuel Gas has been increasing shareholder value by steadily paying dividends for the past 122 years. Currently, the company’s quarterly dividend is 51.5 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.06. The company’s current dividend yield is 2.62%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's average of 1.29%.

NFG’s Systematic Investments
 

National Fuel Gas consistently invests in strengthening its natural gas and oil operations to boost total production. NFG invested $936 million in fiscal 2024 and aims to invest $923 million in fiscal 2025. Over the next five years, the company plans to invest more than $500 million to modernize pipeline transportation and distribution systems.

NFG Stock Price Performance
 

In the past three months, NFG shares have risen 29.1% compared with the industry’s 6.8% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider
 

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same sector are Bloom Energy (BE Quick QuoteBE - Free Report) , IREN Limited (IREN Quick QuoteIREN - Free Report) and BKV Corporation (BKV Quick QuoteBKV - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

BE’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is pegged at 40.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at 38 cents, which indicates a year-over-year improvement of 35.7%.

IREN delivered an average earnings surprise of 63.89% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 EPS is pegged at 38 cents, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 231%.  

BKV delivered an average earnings surprise of 62.82% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $1.37, which calls for a massive year-over-year improvement of 349.1%.