Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Short Interest Up 21.1% in March

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,050,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 28th total of 16,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.9 days. Approximately 20.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOG. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial increased 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.44.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock opened at $26.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.68. Northern Oil and Gas has a 52 week low of $25.95 and a 52 week high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly 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). Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. The business had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $552.34 million. As a group, analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a positive change from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. This represents a 0.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $32,604.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 96,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,752,697. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,273,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,916,000 after purchasing an additional 166,501 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,537,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,937,000 after buying an additional 243,531 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,296,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,507,000 after acquiring an additional 68,631 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,884,000 after acquiring an additional 100,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,590,000 after acquiring an additional 18,195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.