Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:MGY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.54 and last traded at $26.38, with a volume of 4157386 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MGY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp set a $29.00 price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup upgraded Magnolia Oil & Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Magnolia Oil & Gas in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Magnolia Oil & Gas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.64.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.30. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.96.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Magnolia Oil & Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. Magnolia Oil & Gas’s payout ratio is currently 33.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Magnolia Oil & Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGY. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after buying an additional 24,631 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 103,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 8.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,135,000 after purchasing an additional 18,447 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 11.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 7,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new position in Magnolia Oil & Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $316,000. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE: MGY) is an independent exploration and production company focused on the acquisition, development and optimization of onshore oil and gas assets in South Texas. Headquartered in Houston, the company concentrates its efforts on the Eagle Ford Shale, where it holds significant working interests in key producing counties.

The company’s core operations center on horizontal drilling and multi-stage completions designed to extract light crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).