GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Buys New Shares in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 30,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% during the 4th 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. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOG has been the topic of several research reports. Capital One Financial cut shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:NOG traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.67. 292,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,638. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.07. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.88 and a 12 month high of $44.31. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. Northern Oil and Gas's payout ratio is 28.04%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 price of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. This trade 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 purchased 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Oil and Gas 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.