Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.25.

NOG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair initiated coverage on Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 133.3% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 200.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 2,736.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Up 2.3%

Northern Oil and Gas stock opened at $22.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.05. Northern Oil and Gas has a 52 week low of $19.88 and a 52 week high of $42.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 20.61%. The company had revenue of $319.19 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.