Bankinter | Naturgy announces the sale of shares from its treasury stock representing 3.5% of its capital. Naturgy currently holds 4.4% of its share capital in treasury stock. The transaction was carried out through an accelerated placement of 34.1 million shares on the market. The placement price was €25.90 per share, a discount of 3.9% compared to yesterday’s closing price. At these prices, the placement transaction amounts to €883 million.
At the beginning of August, the group carried out another placement of 5.5% of its treasury stock at the same price of €25.90 per share, but on that occasion the discount on the market price was greater (around 7%).
Analysis team’s opinion: Good news, which will allow the share to return to the main stock market indices, but the share will fall today due to the discount offered in the placement. The aim of the operation is to return the shares acquired by Naturgy in the self-takeover bid to the market (carried out in June this year at a price of €26.50/share) with the purpose of providing liquidity to its shares, increasing the free float and promoting its inclusion in the main stock market indices, especially those of the MSCI family, which are fundamental as a guide for funds to invest in certain companies. Naturgy was excluded from these indices in February 2024 on the grounds of the gas company’s low liquidity.
Naturgy’s current shareholding structure is as follows: Criteria Caixa 24%; CVC-CF Alba, 18.6%; BlackRock-GIP, 18.5%; IFM 15.2%, Sonatrach, 4.1%, treasury stock 4.5% and free float 15.1%. Following the accelerated placement, the free float will rise to 18.6% from the current 15.1%, with a consequent reduction in treasury stock to 1% (currently 4.5%). The share price will fall today, reflecting the 3.9% discount on the placement. Naturgy’s Strategic Plan envisages that EBITDA and net profit in 2027 will remain at similar levels to those in 2024, i.e. €5.3 billion in EBITDA and €1.9 billion in net profit.
Growth in networks and renewables will offset a lower contribution from thermal generation, energy management and marketing. Despite maintaining stable net profit, the dividend per share (DPS) will continue to rise: €1.90/share in 2027 versus €1.40/share in 2024 (6% average annual growth), increasing the payout from 88% to 100%. The group’s solid financial structure (net debt/EBITDA of 2.3x at the end of 2024) comfortably allows for this dividend increase. At current market prices, Naturgy is trading at a 2025 P/E ratio of 12.8x and the dividend yield is 6.3%.
