Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Magnolia Oil & Gas shares saw a 61% surge in trading volume after Truist Financial raised its price target to $35 from $34 while maintaining a buy rating. The stock last traded at $24.04.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with the company carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $31.88; JPMorgan also upgraded the stock to overweight.
• Magnolia reported quarterly earnings and revenue above estimates, with revenue up 50.1% year over year, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.18, equivalent to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:MGY - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $35.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. 5,692,222 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 61% from the previous session's volume of 3,532,039 shares. The stock last traded at $24.04 and had previously closed at $24.07.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MGY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Magnolia Oil & Gas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Magnolia Oil & Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Williams Trading set a $32.00 target price on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.88.

Insider Activity

In other Magnolia Oil & Gas news, Director David Khani bought 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,550. This represents a 35.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Magnolia Oil & Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGY. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 93,383 shares of the company's stock worth $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 23,833 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas during the second quarter worth approximately $72,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 11.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,947 shares of the company's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company's stock.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $25.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.80.

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.06. Magnolia Oil & Gas had a net margin of 28.77% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The firm had revenue of $478.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 50.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This is a positive change from Magnolia Oil & Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. Magnolia Oil & Gas's payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Company Profile

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

Magnolia's operations are concentrated in the Eagle Ford Shale and Austin Chalk formations in South Texas, including its Karnes and Giddings areas. Its production activities are supported by established infrastructure and involve the development of unconventional oil and gas resources.

The company was formed in 2017 through a business combination involving TPG Pace Energy Holdings Corp.

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