NOV Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NOV shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on NOV from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NOV currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.47.

NOV Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:NOV opened at $15.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 5.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.64. NOV has a twelve month low of $13.94 and a twelve month high of $21.20.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 12.05%. Analysts anticipate that NOV will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total value of $28,722.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 110,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,311.10. This represents a 1.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NOV by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 581,446 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $8,489,000 after acquiring an additional 56,665 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of NOV by 120.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 473,545 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,561,000 after acquiring an additional 258,392 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of NOV by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 3,291,042 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $48,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,666 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in NOV by 1,590.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of NOV by 519.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 438,068 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,000,000 after buying an additional 367,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

About NOV

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.