Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Cuts Stake in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,763 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,698 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Northern Oil and Gas were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the 4th quarter worth $357,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 232,852 shares of the company's stock worth $8,653,000 after purchasing an additional 42,784 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 193.6% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 18,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 12,347 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,246,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,323,000 after purchasing an additional 104,854 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 453.8% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 38,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 31,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In related news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of NOG stock traded down $0.62 on Thursday, reaching $26.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 184,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,050. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.47. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.88 and a 12-month high of $44.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $26.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $602.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $568.87 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. The company's revenue was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.56.

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.