National Fuel Gas Gets Rare Double Upgrade. Buy the Stock, Analyst Says.

Kalei Akamine of BofA Securities double-upgraded his rating for NFG to Buy from Underperform. (Jim West/Getty Images)

Shares of National Fuel Gas were rising Tuesday after the natural gas producer got a rare double upgrade from a Wall Street analyst.

In a research note Tuesday, Kalei Akamine of BofA Securities boosted his rating for NFG to Buy all the way from Underperform and lifted his price target to $107 from $85, citing improving productivity in one of the company’s Pennsylvania production regions.

NFG stock was up 6.8% to $89.82, putting it on track for a record closing high, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Akamine argued the 2020 acquisition of a gas-rich part of Pennsylvania’s Utica shale formation is paying off. Productivity in this so-called Eastern Development Area, purchased from Shell, has progressively improved, and BofA forecasts that production is now 16% ahead of NFG’s own expectations.

With an estimated 290 locations in the area and an average estimated drilling duration of 20 years, NFG is best positioned to benefit from supply agreements and new projects in the region, Akamine wrote.

A more fossil fuel-friendly administration in Washington may also help. President Donald Trump is pushing for a 124-mile natural-gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York, which could be a longer-term catalyst for NFG, BofA noted.

“We believe that recent well data, the upstream development outlook, and federal regulatory support for new pipelines have tipped the risk/reward balance creating an attractive entry point,” Akamine wrote.

The double upgrade comes amid a strong year for NFG, which also operates pipelines and supplies gas to about 750,000 utilities customers in Pennsylvania and New York.

The company has beat adjusted earnings expectations two consecutive quarters, and shares are up 48% in 2025.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com