Comerica Bank Sells 116,834 Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. $NOG

Key Points

• Comerica Bank cut its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 73.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 116,834 shares and leaving it with 42,629 shares worth about $915,000.
• Analyst sentiment on NOG is mixed but leans cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $32.00, even after several firms raised targets while Weiss Ratings downgraded it to sell.
• Northern Oil and Gas recently reported EPS of $0.74, beating estimates, and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which annualizes to a 7.7% yield.

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) by 73.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,629 shares of the company's stock after selling 116,834 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Northern Oil and Gas were worth $915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOG. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,107 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 429.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. 98.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NOG shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NOG stock opened at $23.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.55 and its 200 day moving average is $24.59. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.18 and a 12 month high of $32.62.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $511.38 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 33.17% and a positive return on equity of 18.43%. Northern Oil and Gas's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently -28.26%.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc is a publicly traded independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. The company's primary operations are concentrated in the Williston Basin, where it secures acreage positions and partners with drilling operators to advance upstream projects. Through strategic leasehold acquisitions and joint ventures, Northern Oil and Gas seeks to expand its footprint in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.

Northern Oil and Gas employs horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to develop unconventional resource plays, particularly in the Bakken, Three Forks and Red River formations of North Dakota and Montana.

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