NOV Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NOV. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of NOV from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of NOV to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of NOV from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.57.

NOV Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE NOV opened at $18.56 on Friday. NOV has a 52 week low of $10.84 and a 52 week high of $20.85. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.85 and a beta of 0.89.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). NOV had a return on equity of 3.57% and a net margin of 1.66%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. NOV’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that NOV will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. NOV’s payout ratio is 94.74%.

Insider Activity

In other NOV news, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 256,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total value of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 269,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,439,727.98. This trade represents a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NOV by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,655 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $32,646,000 after buying an additional 60,148 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of NOV by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 47,164 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 18,404 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,173,000. Numerai GP LLC raised its holdings in NOV by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 15,366 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in NOV during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $865,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.