Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Northern Oil and Gas Call Options (NYSE:NOG)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG – Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 2,483 call options on the company. This is an increase of 99% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,246 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Northern Oil and Gas in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NOG traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.53. 381,471 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,884,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.73. Northern Oil and Gas has a 1 year low of $19.88 and a 1 year high of $42.35.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 6th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $319.19 million for the quarter. Northern Oil and Gas had a return on equity of 20.61% and a net margin of 7.61%. Sell-side analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOG. DLD Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 42.9% in the second quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 25,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,750,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500,000 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas during the first quarter worth about $36,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,298,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,939,000 after buying an additional 1,001,493 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 146.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,312,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,544,000 after buying an additional 779,492 shares during the period. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,137,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.80% of the company’s stock.

Northern Oil and Gas Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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