Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.63 and last traded at $18.9850, with a volume of 183041 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Oil and Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.38.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.54. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 0.68.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Northern Oil and Gas had a positive return on equity of 18.43% and a negative net margin of 33.17%.The business had revenue of $5.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Oil and Gas news, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 25,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.40 per share, for a total transaction of $499,744.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,713,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,240,813.60. This trade represents a 1.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOG. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,492,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position 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 during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the third quarter worth $11,295,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 499.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 421,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,056,000 after acquiring an additional 351,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the first quarter worth $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.