NOV Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 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.

Insider Activity at NOV

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of NOV by 93.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 134,503 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,811,000 after buying an additional 65,006 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,329,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 620,105 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $12,960,000 after acquiring an additional 148,099 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,990 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,314,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Stock Performance

NOV opened at $18.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.67 and a 200 day moving average of $19.13. 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 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.50.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.03. NOV had a net margin of 11.23% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. NOV’s payout ratio is currently 8.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of NOV from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of NOV from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Benchmark downgraded shares of NOV from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NOV from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.07.

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.