UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Market Perform Rating, Lowers PT on Northern Oil & Gas on Continued Low Growth

In a report published Monday, BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Market Perform rating on Northern Oil & Gas (NYSE: NOG), but lowered its price target from $18.00 to $16.00.BMO Capital Markets noted, “We think Northern shares have likely bottomed following what positive 2013 guidance where activity calls for 44 net well spuds (vs. our 40 and 43 in 2012) and production of 4.7-5.0MMBoe. The mid-point was above our 4.7MMBoe estimate, but on slightly higher activity, and capital spending of $420-440mm was also higher than our ~$400mm estimate. That said, the guidance comes as a relief (the non-op model always adds another layer of uncertainty/lack of visibility) with strong growth of ~30% following the 4Q pre-announcement ~3 weeks ago in which production slipped 3.7% Q/Q. Northern should be able to fully fund this program under its revolver and we estimate its leverage ratio will remain under 2x.”Northern Oil & Gas closed on Friday at $14.13.