Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Johnson Rice cut Northern Oil and Gas from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho raised Northern Oil and Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $25.00 price target on Northern Oil and Gas and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Northern Oil and Gas from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.62.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NOG stock opened at $24.49 on Friday. Northern Oil and Gas has a fifty-two week low of $17.18 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.73 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $745.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.09 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a negative net margin of 25.35% and a positive return on equity of 18.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi acquired 25,760 shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.40 per share, for a total transaction of $499,744.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,713,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,240,813.60. This trade represents a 1.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,769,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 116.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,167,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,140,000 after buying an additional 629,197 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,519,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,295,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $8,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc is a publicly traded independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. The company’s primary operations are concentrated in the Williston Basin, where it secures acreage positions and partners with drilling operators to advance upstream projects. Through strategic leasehold acquisitions and joint ventures, Northern Oil and Gas seeks to expand its footprint in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.

Northern Oil and Gas employs horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to develop unconventional resource plays, particularly in the Bakken, Three Forks and Red River formations of North Dakota and Montana.