Analysts Set Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Target Price at $30.14

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.1429.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NOG. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock opened at $22.25 on Friday. Northern Oil and Gas has a fifty-two week low of $19.88 and a fifty-two week high of $42.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.98.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.21. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 20.61%. The business had revenue of $556.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $528.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 30th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 55.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 14,492 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 181.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 41.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 46,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 13,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

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.