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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,616 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 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 analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of NOV from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of NOV from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on NOV from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NOV during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in NOV during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in NOV during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in NOV during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in NOV in the second quarter worth $78,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NOV stock opened at $15.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.78 and a 200 day moving average of $18.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.27, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.67. NOV has a 52 week low of $15.38 and a 52 week high of $21.53.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.22. NOV had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NOV will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.05%.

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.