Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 141,499 Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. $NOG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 141,499 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 10.87 million shares worth about $233.5 million.
• Northern Oil and Gas reported Q1 earnings of $0.74 per share, beating analyst expectations of $0.71, though revenue came in well below estimates and was down 6.2% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45, equal to a 7.7% annualized yield, while analyst sentiment remains mixed with an overall Hold rating and average price target of $32.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,873,455 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 141,499 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.14% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $233,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 127.9% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,279 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 11,944 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 191,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,119,000 after acquiring an additional 23,487 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 837,685 shares of the company's stock worth $17,985,000 after acquiring an additional 181,557 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 27,933 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,800 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

NOG stock opened at $23.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.59. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a one year low of $20.18 and a one year high of $32.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Northern Oil and Gas's payout ratio is currently -28.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.00.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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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