NOV Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NOV)

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NOV. Susquehanna decreased their target price on NOV from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of NOV from $28.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at NOV

In other news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of NOV stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total value of $28,722.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 110,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,311.10. This trade represents a 1.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in NOV by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,729 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of NOV by 2.1% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 49,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in NOV by 11.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,060 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in NOV by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 51,567 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in NOV by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 13,692 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NOV opened at $14.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.66. NOV has a 52 week low of $13.94 and a 52 week high of $21.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.57.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.