Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MGY. Wells Fargo & Company set a $22.00 price objective on Magnolia Oil & Gas and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $30.00 price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.00.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of MGY opened at $26.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Magnolia Oil & Gas has a 1-year low of $19.09 and a 1-year high of $27.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.41 and a 200 day moving average of $23.47.

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Magnolia Oil & Gas had a net margin of 24.79% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $317.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Magnolia Oil & Gas will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Magnolia Oil & Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Magnolia Oil & Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magnolia Oil & Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC increased its position in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 47,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 4.0% in the second quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 12,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE: MGY) is an independent exploration and production company focused on the acquisition, development and optimization of onshore oil and gas assets in South Texas. Headquartered in Houston, the company concentrates its efforts on the Eagle Ford Shale, where it holds significant working interests in key producing counties.

The company’s core operations center on horizontal drilling and multi-stage completions designed to extract light crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).