Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Trading Down 5.6% – Time to Sell?

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) was down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $27.75 and last traded at $27.6030. Approximately 248,926 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,487,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NOG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 price target on Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.71.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Down 4.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.45 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.23.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) 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. The firm had revenue of $610.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.98 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 19.74% and a net margin of 1.57%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 545.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,873,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,453,000 after purchasing an additional 141,499 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 5.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,941,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,563,000 after purchasing an additional 235,869 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 9.1% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,899,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,096,000 after buying an additional 158,713 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 15.7% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,702,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,214,000 after buying an additional 230,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,138,000 after buying an additional 105,876 shares during the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Northern Oil and Gas

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.