Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Position in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,617 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Northern Oil and Gas were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOG. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 29,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $503,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $397,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 341,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,105,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.89.

Insider Transactions at Northern Oil and Gas

In other Northern Oil and Gas news, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.48 per share, with a total value of $27,480.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,215,673.72. The trade was a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

NYSE NOG opened at $28.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.41. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.59 and a 1-year high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. The company had revenue of $545.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.34 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.