Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. $NOG

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,793 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,666 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Northern Oil and Gas were worth $8,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,873,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,453,000 after buying an additional 141,499 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,769,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,138,000 after acquiring an additional 105,876 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,245,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,410,000 after acquiring an additional 194,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 116.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,167,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,140,000 after purchasing an additional 629,197 shares during the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.62.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NOG opened at $25.74 on Friday. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.18 and a 1-year high of $31.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.20.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $745.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.09 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 25.35% and a positive return on equity of 18.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is presently -34.75%.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In related news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 25,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.40 per share, for a total transaction of $499,744.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,713,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,240,813.60. This trade represents a 1.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northern Oil and Gas 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.