eps diluted
2.75–2.95 $per share
FY 2020
official guidance
| Revenue | $2.2B |
|---|---|
| Operating income | $814.5M |
| Net income | $566.0M |
| Free cash flow | $695,000 |
| Operating margin | 37.3% |
| Net margin | 25.9% |
| Return on equity | 27.2% |
| Period | 2022 |
OpenFilings analyst
Agentic read of the latest earnings call — recommendation updates when we process a new transcript. Research synthesis, not investment advice.
Defensive regulated assets and hedges help, but commodity exposure and balance-sheet uncertainty prevent a clean buy.
Latest call · Q2 2020Hold: National Fuel maintained fiscal 2020 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.75-$2.95 despite a difficult commodity backdrop, while regulated earnings and the Supply rate settlement support the dividend.
However, Seneca’s production was cut to 230-240 Bcfe, California spending may be deferred, further impairments could reduce equity toward the low-to-mid 40% range, and roughly $150 million of financing is still needed.
Natural-gas and oil prices remain the primary earnings swing factors; management assumes $2.05/MMBtu NYMEX gas, $1.65/MMBtu Appalachian gas, and $22.50/barrel WTI for the remaining fiscal year.
Seneca will drop to one Pennsylvania rig this summer; production was already curtailed by 2.7 Bcf in the quarter and approximately 2 Bcf in April.
Empire North remains on track for completion by fiscal year-end and is expected to add $25 million of annual revenue.
Utility bad-debt expense, customer collections, and industrial volumes require monitoring; industrial volumes were down approximately 5%-10%, though this represents only about 10% of companywide utility margin.
FERC approval of Supply Corporation’s rate settlement is expected within one to two months; the settlement adds approximately $35 million initially and another $15 million tied to the FM100 modernization component.
The regulated Utility and Pipeline businesses provide the core dividend-support thesis, with Empire North and ongoing system modernization positioned to drive earnings growth into fiscal 2021 and beyond.
Seneca’s Pennsylvania development remains operationally attractive: the latest WDA Utica pad outperformed its type curve by approximately 30%, but the company will not add a rig unless prices reach roughly $2.75/MMBtu and multi-year hedges are available.
Approximately 90% of remaining fiscal 2020 East Division gas production was already sold or hedged, including about 76 Bcf at a realized price of $2.16/Mcfe plus 25 Bcf of firm sales.
California oil is a structural cash-flow risk if low prices persist; management indicated fiscal 2021 activity would be very low and development capital could be deferred.
Management explicitly excludes future price-related production curtailments and future ceiling-test impairments from fiscal 2020 guidance, leaving downside not fully captured in the outlook.
A further impairment could pressure the 1974 indenture’s two-times interest-coverage test and temporarily restrict issuance of incremental long-term debt, although management said any exclusion would likely be limited rather than extended.
The company expects approximately $150 million of financing needs after capital spending and dividends, with revolver liquidity as the first funding source.
Management’s answer on acquisitions was noncommittal: it is interested in California and nearby Pennsylvania assets, but stressed that transaction timing and seller willingness remain uncertain.
The dividend is being justified primarily by regulated earnings rather than consolidated free cash flow, while commodity losses and deferred tax asset valuation issues remain unresolved.
eps diluted
2.75–2.95 $per share
FY 2020
official guidance
revenue
305 $million
FY 2020
official guidance
OpenFilings analyst view from primary-source filings and earnings calls — not investment advice.
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
NATIONAL FUEL GAS COMPANY
The rest of this company's wire — with summaries and source links — is part of Pro.
See plans