First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 492,362 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,545 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.49% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $18,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOG. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 9,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,423,000. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 24,746 shares of the company's stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 131,642 shares of the company's stock worth $4,892,000 after purchasing an additional 7,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,662,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.48 per share, with a total value of $27,480.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,215,673.72. The trade was a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NOG traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 424,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,767. 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 current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

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

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.