Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.67.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 481,797 shares of the company's stock worth $17,904,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 77,439 shares of the company's stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 20,550 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter worth $909,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,058,899 shares of the company's stock worth $39,349,000 after purchasing an additional 73,256 shares during the period. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Up 3.9%

NOG traded up $1.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,968,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,547,752. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.51. Northern Oil and Gas has a twelve month low of $19.88 and a twelve month high of $44.31.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.