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

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

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NOV stock opened at $15.03 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.47. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.66. NOV has a 12 month low of $13.78 and a 12 month high of $21.20.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 7.16%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of NOV by 12,344.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,309,433 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $179,718,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210,514 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in NOV by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 43,027,106 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $687,143,000 after buying an additional 7,851,220 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NOV by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 37,153,173 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $593,336,000 after buying an additional 6,963,660 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of NOV in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,495,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,709,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOV. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of NOV from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upped their price objective on NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, ATB Capital restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.60.

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.