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

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.56.

NOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

In other Northern Oil and Gas news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. This represents a 0.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought 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 trade 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

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

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NOG traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.65. 1,753,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,367. The company's 50-day moving average is $26.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.90. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Northern Oil and Gas has a 12-month low of $19.88 and a 12-month high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $602.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $568.87 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. Northern Oil and Gas's revenue for the quarter was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. Northern Oil and Gas's payout ratio is 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.