Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $24.76, but opened at $26.08. Northern Oil and Gas shares last traded at $23.86, with a volume of 422,940 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $602.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.87 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The firm's revenue was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.08%. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NOG. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at $6,215,673.72. This trade represents a 0.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,273,298 shares of the company's stock worth $418,916,000 after purchasing an additional 166,501 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,537,596 shares of the company's stock worth $242,937,000 after purchasing an additional 243,531 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,296,886 shares of the company's stock worth $122,507,000 after buying an additional 68,631 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,590,000 after buying an additional 18,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,766,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,648,000 after buying an additional 373,917 shares during the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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.