Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Shares Up 4.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) rose 4.1% during trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $28.00 to $32.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Northern Oil and Gas traded as high as $26.64 and last traded at $26.8110. 328,319 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,588,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.75.

NOG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.22.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,769,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 18.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,245,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,410,000 after purchasing an additional 194,861 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 116.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,167,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,140,000 after buying an additional 629,197 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the second quarter worth $10,519,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 17.5% in the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 473,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,599,000 after buying an additional 70,666 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Up 4.1%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.07 and its 200 day moving average is $23.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 0.90.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $745.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.09 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 25.35% and a positive return on equity of 18.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is -34.75%.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company primarily holds non-operated working interests in wells, allowing it to participate in hydrocarbon development without serving as the principal operator.

Northern Oil and Gas has built a diversified portfolio across several major U.S. oil and natural gas regions, including the Williston Basin, the Permian Basin and the Appalachian Basin.