Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Stock Price

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) had its price target reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $43.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.89% from the company’s current price.

NOG has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Capital One Financial downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE NOG opened at $30.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.81. Northern Oil and Gas has a 52-week low of $26.60 and a 52-week high of $44.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.16). Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 23.38% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The firm had revenue of $545.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.34 million. Equities research analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bahram Akradi acquired 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.03 per share, with a total value of $1,121,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,662,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,586,308.48. This represents a 2.47 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady purchased 1,000 shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.48 per share, for a total transaction of $27,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,189 shares in the company, valued at $6,215,673.72. This represents a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. 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.