Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:MGY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus: "Moderate Buy" — Seventeen analysts cover MGY with an average 1‑year price target of $31.08; ratings break down as 7 buys, 9 holds and 1 strong buy.
• Large insider selling — CEO Christopher Stavros sold 119,954 shares (~$3.51M) and CFO Brian Corales sold 33,000 shares (~$961K) on March 9, and insiders have sold 338,954 shares (~$9.91M) over the last 90 days.
• Price and income profile — MGY trades near $29.35 with a 52‑week range of $20.25–$32.76, a $5.47B market cap and P/E of 17.06, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.165 (annualized $0.66, ~2.2% yield).

Shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:MGY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.0833.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MGY shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Insider Transactions at Magnolia Oil & Gas

In related news, CEO Christopher G. Stavros sold 119,954 shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.29, for a total value of $3,513,452.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 883,592 shares in the company, valued at $25,880,409.68. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian Corales sold 33,000 shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total transaction of $960,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 184,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,363,263.36. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 338,954 shares of company stock worth $9,911,733. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magnolia Oil & Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MGY. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas during the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 0.8% during the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,172,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,574,000 after buying an additional 17,541 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas during the first quarter valued at about $485,000. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 14.1% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 481.9% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 153,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,844,000 after buying an additional 127,077 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company's stock.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MGY opened at $29.35 on Wednesday. Magnolia Oil & Gas has a fifty-two week low of $20.25 and a fifty-two week high of $32.76. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.39.

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Magnolia Oil & Gas had a net margin of 24.79% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $317.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Magnolia Oil & Gas will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Magnolia Oil & Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Magnolia Oil & Gas's payout ratio is 38.37%.

About Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp NYSE: MGY is an independent exploration and production company focused on the acquisition, development and optimization of onshore oil and gas assets in South Texas. Headquartered in Houston, the company concentrates its efforts on the Eagle Ford Shale, where it holds significant working interests in key producing counties.

The company's core operations center on horizontal drilling and multi-stage completions designed to extract light crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.