Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $3.16 Million in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,159,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Northern Oil and Gas at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Oil and Gas news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This represents a 2.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOG shares. Capital One Financial lowered Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America dropped 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 note on Tuesday, April 1st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.56.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOG traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.01. 278,602 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,050. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.72. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.88 and a 1 year high of $44.31. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $568.87 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Northern Oil and Gas's quarterly revenue was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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 approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.43%. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

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.