Emerald Advisers LLC Trims Holdings in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Emerald Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 454,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156,603 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 0.46% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $16,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $21,691,000. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,766,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,648,000 after buying an additional 373,917 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 135.6% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 511,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,101,000 after buying an additional 294,223 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,537,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,937,000 after buying an additional 243,531 shares during the period. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $7,432,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOG opened at $30.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.99. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.60 and a fifty-two week high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.34 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 23.38%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is 35.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,215,673.72. This trade represents a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.89.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

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.