Analysts Set Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) Target Price at $44.78

Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.78.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced 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 note on Tuesday, February 25th. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at $6,215,673.72. The trade was a 0.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bahram Akradi bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares in the company, valued at $46,586,308.48. This represents a 2.47 % 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.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOG. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 7.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 87,254 shares of the company's stock worth $3,090,000 after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,884,000 after acquiring an additional 100,761 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 28,667 shares of the company's stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 28,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company's stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NOG traded up $1.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,133,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,437. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.47. Northern Oil and Gas has a one year low of $19.88 and a one year high of $44.31.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $545.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 forecast that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Northern Oil and Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.02%.

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.