Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,751 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.12% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $4,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOG. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. 98.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:NOG opened at $28.43 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.72. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.88 and a 1 year high of $44.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $602.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.87 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company’s revenue was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is 28.04%.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Oil and Gas news, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.48 per share, with a total value of $27,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. This represents a 0.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bahram Akradi acquired 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at $46,586,308.48. This represents a 2.47% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Northern Oil and Gas

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.