Insider Selling: Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Insider Sells 3,150 Shares of Stock

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) insider James B. Evans sold 3,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $132,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 73,753 shares in the company, valued at $3,097,626. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NOG traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,568,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,339. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.98. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.57 and a fifty-two week high of $43.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $543.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.31 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 42.61% and a return on equity of 40.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NOG shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America lowered shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 434,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,236,000 after acquiring an additional 29,141 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas during the 1st quarter worth $200,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 17,783 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 5,121 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas during the 1st quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 88,939 shares of the company's stock worth $2,507,000 after buying an additional 22,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.