Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 11,177 Shares of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,849 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,177 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northern Oil and Gas were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 44,860.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Northern Oil and Gas by 14.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Northern Oil and Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 98.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Oil and Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:NOG opened at $43.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.57 and a 1 year high of $43.64.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $543.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.31 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 42.61% and a return on equity of 40.86%. Northern Oil and Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Northern Oil and Gas’s payout ratio is 15.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Oil and Gas

In related news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 2,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $79,344.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 122,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,649,642. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider James B. Evans sold 3,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $132,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 73,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,626. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 2,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $79,344.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,649,642. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,944 shares of company stock valued at $436,614 in the last 90 days. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Oil and Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Northern Oil and Gas from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America lowered Northern Oil and Gas from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.30.

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.