Investors Purchase Large Volume of Northern Oil and Gas Call Options (NYSE:NOG)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity surged in Northern Oil and Gas, with investors buying 8,324 call options on Monday, about 325% above the normal volume.
• Insider buying added a bullish signal: Director Bahram Akradi purchased 25,760 shares at $19.40 each, increasing his stake by 1.53%.
• Despite the trading interest, NOG shares fell 2.4% to $17.53, and analysts currently have a Hold consensus with an average price target of $31.88.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 8,324 call options on the company. This is an increase of 325% compared to the typical volume of 1,959 call options.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 25,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.40 per share, for a total transaction of $499,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,713,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,240,813.60. This represents a 1.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOG. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 1,621.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 17,062 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,245,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,410,000 after purchasing an additional 194,861 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 25.1% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 110,016 shares of the company's stock worth $3,216,000 after buying an additional 22,102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 403,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,783,000 after acquiring an additional 20,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $602,000. 98.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Northern Oil and Gas from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.88.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:NOG traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $17.53. 2,131,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,701,439. Northern Oil and Gas has a 12-month low of $17.18 and a 12-month high of $31.28. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 0.69.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 33.17% and a positive return on equity of 18.43%. The company had revenue of $5.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $511.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. Northern Oil and Gas's 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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