Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.21 and last traded at $26.38, with a volume of 1685504 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOG. Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.44.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.61 and a 200 day moving average of $36.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company had revenue of $545.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.34 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $32,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 96,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,752,697. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,273,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,916,000 after purchasing an additional 166,501 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,537,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,937,000 after buying an additional 243,531 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,296,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,507,000 after acquiring an additional 68,631 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,884,000 after acquiring an additional 100,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,590,000 after acquiring an additional 18,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.