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

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

NOG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho lowered Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.33.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Down 0.4 %

NOG stock opened at $30.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.48 and a 200-day moving average of $36.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92. Northern Oil and Gas has a one year low of $26.60 and a one 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $552.34 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. As a group, analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

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.