Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Price Target Cut to $38.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $43.00 to $38.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho lowered Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Capital One Financial lowered shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.33.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NOG stock opened at $30.83 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.84. Northern Oil and Gas has a 12-month low of $26.60 and a 12-month high of $44.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.84.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $545.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $552.34 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.48 per share, with a total value of $27,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at $6,215,673.72. This trade represents a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $32,604.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 96,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,752,697. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 481,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,904,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 77,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 20,550 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $909,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,058,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,349,000 after buying an additional 73,256 shares during the period. 98.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.