Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price Up 4.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) were up 4.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.50 and last traded at $23.40. Approximately 117,835 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 1,803,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NOG shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.78.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.42%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,662,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. The trade was a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,273,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,916,000 after acquiring an additional 166,501 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,537,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,937,000 after purchasing an additional 243,531 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,296,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,507,000 after buying an additional 68,631 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,884,000 after buying an additional 100,761 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,590,000 after buying an additional 18,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.