Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on NOV (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 2,616 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of NOV from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of NOV in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NOV has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in NOV during the second quarter worth about $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of NOV in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 1,590.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of NOV in the second quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 67.6% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NOV Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE NOV opened at $15.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.67. NOV has a one year low of $14.98 and a one year high of $21.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.74.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.07%.

NOV Company Profile

NOV Inc designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products for oil and gas drilling and production, and industrial and renewable energy sectors in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Energy Equipment, and Energy Products and Services. The company provides solids control and waste management equipment and services, managed pressure drilling, drilling fluids, premium drillpipe, wired pipe, drilling optimization services, tubular inspection and coating services, instrumentation, downhole tools, and drill bits.