Northern Oil and Gas price target raised to $62 from $57 at Raymond James

Raymond James raised the firm’s price target on Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) to $62 from $57 and keeps a Strong Buy rating on the shares. The fourth quarter was “forgettable” from a stock performance perspective, but has set the Exploration and Production group up nicely going into the New Year, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm expects largely in-line results from its coverage, and notes that efficiency gains continued at a pace that almost nobody anticipated, production growth is largely not the goal, and looks like a by-product of these efficiency gains, and says that it expects acquisitions to continue. Northern Oil is dealing with some third-party issues that will likely weigh on results and prevent it from generating its typical beat and raise cadence, Raymond James adds.