Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Northern Oil and Gas Call Options (NYSE:NOG)

Key Points

• Investors bought 4,489 call options on NOG on Tuesday — a 115% increase versus typical call volume — indicating unusual bullish options activity.
• Northern reported an earnings beat (EPS $0.83 vs $0.71) and revenue of $610.18M (up 18.5% year-over-year), while the stock offers a 6.0% yield but has an extremely high payout ratio (545.45%).
• Hedge funds and institutions own 98.80% of the company; NOG trades around $30 with a $2.93B market cap and carries mixed analyst ratings with a consensus target of $31.00.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 4,489 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 115% compared to the typical volume of 2,086 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2,736.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 181.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,107 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 572.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 0.7%

Northern Oil and Gas stock traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, hitting $30.13. 371,429 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,481,540. Northern Oil and Gas has a 1 year low of $19.88 and a 1 year high of $32.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $26.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.20.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 19.74%. The firm had revenue of $610.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors 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 yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio is 545.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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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