Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Trading Up 3.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) shot up 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $28.67 and last traded at $28.7930. 573,265 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 2,030,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 price target on Northern Oil and Gas in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.29.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.24 and a beta of 0.96.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $610.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.98 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 19.74%. Northern Oil and Gas’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 545.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 29,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 5,156 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,792,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. grew its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 108,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after buying an additional 27,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc is a publicly traded independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. The company’s primary operations are concentrated in the Williston Basin, where it secures acreage positions and partners with drilling operators to advance upstream projects. Through strategic leasehold acquisitions and joint ventures, Northern Oil and Gas seeks to expand its footprint in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.

Northern Oil and Gas employs horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to develop unconventional resource plays, particularly in the Bakken, Three Forks and Red River formations of North Dakota and Montana.