Morgan Stanley Cuts Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Price Target to $39.00

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $39.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.78% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NOG. StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Oil and Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.78.

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NOG traded up $0.14 on Monday, hitting $34.58. 554,345 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,325,535. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Northern Oil and Gas has a one year low of $31.13 and a one year high of $43.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.81.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $560.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $542.28 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 27.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 1,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.88, for a total value of $52,728.96. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 107,628 shares in the company, valued at $4,076,948.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $142,537.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 224,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,526,859.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 1,392 shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.88, for a total transaction of $52,728.96. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 107,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,076,948.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 22,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 91.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.2% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 27,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 46,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 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.