Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.55 and traded as high as $25.16. Northern Oil and Gas shares last traded at $24.79, with a volume of 1,677,996 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NOG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northern Oil and Gas from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the second quarter worth approximately $26,769,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 116.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,167,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,140,000 after buying an additional 629,197 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,519,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 3,057.0% in the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 427,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,770,000 after buying an additional 413,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter worth $9,351,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 1.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.23. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 27.47% and a positive return on equity of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $345.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is -36.66%.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. is an independent energy company that acquires interests in oil and natural gas properties across the United States. It primarily holds non-operated working interests, partnering with other companies that manage drilling and production activities. The company’s portfolio spans several major U.S. producing regions, including the Williston, Permian, Appalachian and Uinta basins. Its interests include properties producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Founded in 2006, Northern Oil and Gas initially focused on the Williston Basin.