Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.63 and last traded at $18.9850, with a volume of 183041 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Johnson Rice lowered Northern Oil and Gas from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.38.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Down 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of -2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.61.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 33.17% and a positive return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $5.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.6%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOG. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $25,492,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 116.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,167,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,140,000 after buying an additional 629,197 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,295,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 499.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 421,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,056,000 after buying an additional 351,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,115,000. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.