Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires Shares of 33,041 Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 33,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 18,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 7,668 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,381,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,102,000 after purchasing an additional 21,754 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,664 shares of the company's stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 177.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:NOG traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.75. 3,185,807 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,562,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.21. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.88 and a 12 month high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $602.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.87 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Northern Oil and Gas's payout ratio is 28.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NOG shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 research report on Monday, April 14th. Capital One Financial cut shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.67.

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.