Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.33.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOG shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $32,604.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 96,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,752,697. The trade was a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOG opened at $30.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.48 and a 200 day moving average of $36.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.84. Northern Oil and Gas has a one year low of $26.60 and a one year high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $552.34 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 35.02%.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Williston Basin, the Appalachian Basin, and the Permian Basin in the United States.