Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.52, but opened at $19.27. Northern Oil and Gas shares last traded at $19.3220, with a volume of 417,447 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NOG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $30.00 target price on Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 target price on Northern Oil and Gas and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.88.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.36 and a 200 day moving average of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. Northern Oil and Gas had a positive return on equity of 18.43% and a negative net margin of 33.17%.The company had revenue of $5.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Northern Oil and Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is currently -28.26%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 25,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.40 per share, with a total value of $499,744.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,713,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,240,813.60. This represents a 1.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NOG. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 14,492 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 181.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 5.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 41.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 46,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 13,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.