Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on NOV (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 20,436 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,950% compared to the average daily volume of 997 call options.

NOV Stock Performance

NOV traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $18.87. The stock had a trading volume of 8,698,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,355,582. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.16. The company has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.74. NOV has a 12-month low of $14.05 and a 12-month high of $21.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. NOV had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 11.57%. NOV’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. NOV’s payout ratio is 7.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Christy Lynn Novak sold 3,500 shares of NOV stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.43, for a total value of $61,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 114,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,990,715.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NOV in the 1st quarter worth $78,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of NOV by 5.4% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 543,884 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $10,617,000 after purchasing an additional 27,986 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in shares of NOV by 264.6% during the first quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 39,061 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 28,348 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of NOV during the 1st quarter worth about $2,082,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of NOV by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 113,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on NOV shares. StockNews.com raised NOV from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on NOV from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of NOV from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of NOV from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NOV has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

About NOV

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.