Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.89.

NOG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 16th. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 price objective on Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:NOG opened at $32.23 on Wednesday. Northern Oil and Gas has a twelve month low of $32.14 and a twelve month high of $44.31. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.26. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.16). Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. The business had revenue of $545.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.34 million. Analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.59%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $3,752,697. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,273,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,916,000 after purchasing an additional 166,501 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 243,531 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,884,000 after buying an additional 100,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,590,000 after buying an additional 18,195 shares during the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.