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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,616 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

NOV Price Performance

NYSE NOV opened at $15.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.97. NOV has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $16.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

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

NOV Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. NOV’s payout ratio is 30.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NOV news, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 70,000 shares of NOV stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $1,012,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,822.54. The trade was a 438.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOV. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in NOV by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 34,108 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NOV by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 62,211 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 5,974 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in NOV by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 771,572 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $11,743,000 after acquiring an additional 123,066 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NOV in the 1st quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in NOV by 18.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 269,293 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $4,099,000 after acquiring an additional 41,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of NOV from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on NOV from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on NOV from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.83.

About NOV

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.