Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $43.00 to $38.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on NOG. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NOG stock opened at $30.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92. Northern Oil and Gas has a 52-week low of $26.60 and a 52-week high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $545.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. This is a positive change from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 836 shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total transaction of $32,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 96,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,752,697. The trade was a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOG. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 177.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 98.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northern Oil and Gas

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.