NOV (NYSE:NOV) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $19.51 and last traded at $19.4830, with a volume of 5223228 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NOV. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 target price on NOV in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI set a $19.00 price objective on NOV in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.40.

NOV Trading Up 4.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.27 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.82.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is 78.95%.

Insider Transactions at NOV

In other news, Director Christian S. Kendall acquired 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.46 per share, with a total value of $1,012,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOV. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of NOV by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,578,053 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $246,159,000 after buying an additional 161,414 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in NOV by 43.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,596,504 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $100,654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304,975 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its stake in NOV by 101.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 7,018,950 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $87,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,526,754 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 15.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,008,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $92,860,000 after acquiring an additional 917,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NOV by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,747,682 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $76,157,000 after purchasing an additional 765,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.