Magnolia Oil & Gas Co. (NYSE:MGY) Short Interest Down 15.4% in March

Magnolia Oil & Gas Co. (NYSE:MGY) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,070,000 shares, a drop of 15.4% from the March 15th total of 31,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.5 days. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Price Performance

Shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas stock traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $20.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 428,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,282,790. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.66. Magnolia Oil & Gas has a 52-week low of $19.09 and a 52-week high of $29.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $326.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.40 million. Magnolia Oil & Gas had a net margin of 27.82% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Analysts expect that Magnolia Oil & Gas will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Magnolia Oil & Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Magnolia Oil & Gas’s payout ratio is 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group began coverage on Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher G. Stavros purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.05 per share, for a total transaction of $55,125.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 892,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,676,802.60. This trade represents a 0.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Magnolia Oil & Gas

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,938,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,535,000 after buying an additional 452,836 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 15,410,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038,709 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,396,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,559,000 after acquiring an additional 667,973 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,020,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,383,000 after buying an additional 26,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,768,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,475,000 after buying an additional 86,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Company Profile

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil and natural gas properties. It operates assets located in the Eagle Ford Shale and Austin Chalk formations in South Texas. The company was founded on February 14, 2017 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.