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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,616 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,353% compared to the average volume of 180 put options.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV opened at $15.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.06 and its 200-day moving average is $13.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.25. NOV has a fifty-two week low of $10.84 and a fifty-two week high of $16.66.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.13). NOV had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. NOV’s payout ratio is 30.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NOV news, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.46 per share, with a total value of $1,012,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,822.54. This represents a 438.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of NOV during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 114.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,109 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 395.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,660 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,921 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of NOV by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOV. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised NOV from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on NOV from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of NOV from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.54.

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.