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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,616 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

NOV Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NOV stock opened at $15.34 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.38. NOV has a 12-month low of $13.78 and a 12-month high of $21.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.34.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 9.88%. On average, equities analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its stake in NOV by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 4,114,157 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $62,617,000 after purchasing an additional 823,115 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of NOV by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,726 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 19,399 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NOV during the fourth quarter worth about $1,790,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of NOV during the fourth quarter worth about $4,960,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in NOV in the 4th quarter valued at about $762,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. ATB Capital reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.60.

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.