Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price Down 7.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) fell 7.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $26.82 and last traded at $27.4220. 615,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,474,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NOG. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price objective on Northern Oil and Gas and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.71.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 82.92 and a beta of 0.94.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 19.74% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company had revenue of $610.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is 545.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 146.3% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,312,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,544,000 after acquiring an additional 779,492 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 15.7% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,702,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,214,000 after acquiring an additional 230,899 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 390.1% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 72,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 57,882 shares during the last quarter. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 20.0% during the third quarter. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC now owns 240,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,970,000 after acquiring an additional 40,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 364.4% during the third quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 104,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 82,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.