Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 583,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,691,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Northern Oil and Gas at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 177.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Capital One Financial lowered Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.48 per share, with a total value of $27,480.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. This represents a 0.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bahram Akradi acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $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 2.80% of the company's stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 1.2 %

NOG stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.72. The stock had a trading volume of 279,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,111. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.17. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.88 and a 52-week high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.16). Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. The business had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.34 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.59%. This is a boost from Northern Oil and Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Northern Oil and Gas's payout ratio is presently 35.02%.

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

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.