Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stock Position in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 336,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 174,650 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.34% of Northern Oil and Gas worth $12,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 177.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 23.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas by 297.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Up 2.2 %

Northern Oil and Gas stock opened at $22.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 0.92. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a one year low of $19.88 and a one year high of $44.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Northern Oil and Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Northern Oil and Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.02%.

Northern Oil and Gas announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOG. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Northern Oil and Gas from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

In related news, CEO Nicholas L. O’grady purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,215,673.72. This represents a 0.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bahram Akradi purchased 40,000 shares of Northern Oil and Gas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $46,586,308.48. This trade represents a 2.47 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northern Oil and Gas Profile

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.