NOV Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

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

Insider Activity at NOV

In other news, Director Christian S. Kendall bought 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.46 per share, with a total value of $1,012,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 85,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,822.54. This trade represents a 438.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOV. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in NOV in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of NOV by 114.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,109 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in NOV by 395.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,660 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in NOV by 33.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Stock Performance

NOV opened at $15.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. NOV has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $16.66.

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

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NOV shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on NOV from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of NOV from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Susquehanna set a $17.00 price target on shares of NOV and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of NOV from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of NOV from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.54.

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.