Portolan Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Portolan Capital Management LLC cut its position in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG - Free Report) by 35.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,034 shares of the company's stock after selling 110,206 shares during the quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned 0.20% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $7,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 24,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,378 shares of the company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 131,642 shares of the company's stock worth $4,892,000 after acquiring an additional 7,278 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 544,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,251,000 after acquiring an additional 61,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the 4th quarter worth $21,691,000. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

In related news, CEO Nicholas L. O'grady bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,215,673.72. This trade represents a 0.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,662,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. The trade was a 2.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOG shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.78.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NOG traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.25. 2,133,261 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,146. The company has a market capitalization 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. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.88 and a twelve month high of $44.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.48.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $552.34 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its Board of Directors 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Northern Oil and Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Northern Oil and Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.02%.

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.