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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christian S. Kendall bought 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $1,012,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,822.54. This trade represents a 438.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOV. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NOV during the fourth quarter worth about $303,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NOV in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NOV during the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in NOV during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Oldfield Partners LLP raised its holdings in NOV by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 5,045,332 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $78,859,000 after buying an additional 276,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

NOV Trading Up 4.3%

NYSE NOV opened at $18.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.95. NOV has a 12 month low of $10.84 and a 12 month high of $18.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.15 and a 200-day moving average of $14.28.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that NOV will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on NOV from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NOV has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.92.

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.