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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 2,616 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOV. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of NOV from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of NOV from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV opened at $18.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.39 and its 200-day moving average is $19.20. NOV has a fifty-two week low of $14.05 and a fifty-two week high of $21.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $1.10. NOV had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. NOV’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.97%.

Insider Transactions at NOV

In other news, CAO Christy Lynn Novak sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.43, for a total value of $61,005.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 114,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,990,715.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in NOV by 85.4% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,259 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in NOV by 94.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,287 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NOV during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NOV during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.