Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price Down 7.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• The stock was down 7.2% intraday to about $27.42 on Wednesday, with ~615,078 shares traded—roughly 75% below its average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with a $31.71 target, while individual targets range from $24 (Morgan Stanley, underweight) to $39 (Citigroup, buy).
• Northern beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.83 vs. $0.71) and revenue rose 18.5% year-over-year, but the stock trades at a high P/E (~82.9) and offers a 6.6% dividend yield with an unusually high payout ratio of 545%, which may be unsustainable.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) shares were down 7.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.82 and last traded at $27.4220. Approximately 615,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,474,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NOG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho set a $29.00 price target on Northern Oil and Gas in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price target on Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.71.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.92 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 19.74% and a net margin of 1.57%.The business had revenue of $610.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.98 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 545.45%.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 226.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 29,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 5,156 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,792,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc is a publicly traded independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. The company's primary operations are concentrated in the Williston Basin, where it secures acreage positions and partners with drilling operators to advance upstream projects. Through strategic leasehold acquisitions and joint ventures, Northern Oil and Gas seeks to expand its footprint in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.

Northern Oil and Gas employs horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to develop unconventional resource plays, particularly in the Bakken, Three Forks and Red River formations of North Dakota and Montana.

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