Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Shares Up 4%

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) shot up 4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $38.35 and last traded at $38.35. 669,249 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,346,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOG. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.80.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.67 and a 200-day moving average of $39.08.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.26. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 27.37%. The firm had revenue of $560.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.28 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This is a positive change from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $142,537.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 224,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,526,859.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Erik J. Romslo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.26, for a total value of $52,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 105,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,727,440.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $142,537.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 224,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,526,859.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,631,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,857,000 after purchasing an additional 43,940 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $1,046,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 72,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after acquiring an additional 16,302 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 749,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,747,000 after acquiring an additional 12,814 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 8,679.3% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 512,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,355,000 after acquiring an additional 507,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Williston Basin, the Appalachian Basin, and the Permian Basin in the United States.