NOV Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOV. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in NOV by 12.1% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,928 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of NOV by 382.9% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,201 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,432 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in NOV by 52.4% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 50,900 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in NOV by 62.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,539 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 21,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in NOV in the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

NOV Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NOV stock opened at $12.52 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.01. NOV has a 1 year low of $10.84 and a 1 year high of $21.20.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 9.88%. As a group, research analysts expect that NOV will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. NOV’s payout ratio is 18.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NOV has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

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.