Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price Up 4.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) shot up 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.50 and last traded at $23.40. 117,835 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,803,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.78.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 5.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.49.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). The firm 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, equities analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.42%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,884,000 after buying an additional 100,761 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 28,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 28,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.