Royal Bank of Canada Downgrades Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) to Sector Perform

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $45.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $43.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.33% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NOG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho began coverage on Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

Shares of NOG opened at $42.32 on Wednesday. Northern Oil and Gas has a 52-week low of $31.13 and a 52-week high of $43.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $37.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.80.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.20. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 27.52% and a net margin of 33.44%. The company had revenue of $753.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. Northern Oil and Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 140.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northern Oil and Gas

In other Northern Oil and Gas news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 2,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $96,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 107,876 shares in the company, valued at $4,153,226. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Chad W. Allen sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $60,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,351,680. The trade was a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,508 shares of company stock worth $248,113. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Oil and Gas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,631,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,857,000 after buying an additional 43,940 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 11.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,566,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,905,000 after buying an additional 552,645 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 45.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,521,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,744,000 after buying an additional 789,985 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,884,000 after purchasing an additional 100,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,245,000 after purchasing an additional 12,079 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Oil and Gas

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.