Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Upgraded 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 report released on Saturday.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOG opened at $25.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.46 and a 200-day moving average of $24.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Northern Oil and Gas has a 12 month low of $17.18 and a 12 month high of $31.17.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $745.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $594.09 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a positive return on equity of 18.69% and a negative net margin of 25.35%.The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 29th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is -34.75%.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi acquired 25,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.40 per share, with a total value of $499,744.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,713,444 shares in the company, valued at $33,240,813.60. The trade was a 1.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 55.6% during the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 87,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 31,152 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 22.1% in the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,489,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC bought a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Oil and Gas

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.