NOV Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 2,616 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,353% compared to the average volume of 180 put options.

NOV Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE NOV opened at $13.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.16 and its 200-day moving average is $14.53. NOV has a one year low of $10.84 and a one year high of $21.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.27.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.06). NOV had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NOV will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on NOV from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down previously from $25.00) on shares of NOV in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of NOV from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOV. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in NOV by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 197,956 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 38,610 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of NOV by 7.4% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 58,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NOV by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 107,317 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NOV by 4.5% during the first quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 696,516 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $10,601,000 after purchasing an additional 30,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in NOV in the first quarter valued at $23,589,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.