Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on NOG. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Johnson Rice downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised Northern Oil and Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.62.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NOG opened at $24.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.73 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.09. Northern Oil and Gas has a fifty-two week low of $17.18 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.05). Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 25.35% and a positive return on equity of 18.69%. The company had revenue of $745.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -34.75%.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In related news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 25,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.40 per share, for a total transaction of $499,744.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,713,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,240,813.60. This represents a 1.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 884,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,980,000 after buying an additional 128,545 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 837,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,985,000 after buying an additional 181,557 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,873,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,453,000 after acquiring an additional 141,499 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 187,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,018,000 after acquiring an additional 46,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,877,000. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.