Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 12,711 Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 494,508 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,711 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $14,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 127.7% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 187.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.89.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NOG opened at $30.69 on Friday. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.88 and a 52 week high of $44.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.21. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business had revenue of $602.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.87 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Northern Oil and Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

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.