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 buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Northern Oil and Gas from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.56.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock opened at $22.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.54. Northern Oil and Gas has a 1-year low of $17.18 and a 1-year high of $31.17. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 0.85.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $345.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.68 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 quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 30th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is -36.66%.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,769,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 194,861 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 valued at $34,140,000 after acquiring an additional 629,197 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,519,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 17.5% in the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 473,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,599,000 after acquiring an additional 70,666 shares during the period. 98.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc is an independent energy company that acquires interests in oil and natural gas properties across the United States. It primarily holds non-operated working interests, partnering with other companies that manage drilling and production activities.

The company’s portfolio spans several major U.S. producing regions, including the Williston, Permian, Appalachian and Uinta basins. Its interests include properties producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

Founded in 2006, Northern Oil and Gas initially focused on the Williston Basin.