NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.5714.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NOV shares. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 target price on NOV in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of NOV to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th.

NOV Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NOV stock opened at $18.44 on Tuesday. NOV has a 1-year low of $10.84 and a 1-year high of $20.85. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 48.51 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.77 and a 200-day moving average of $15.94.

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

NOV Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is 78.95%.

Insider Transactions at NOV

In related news, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of NOV 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 269,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,439,727.98. This trade represents a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,146,885.52. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOV. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in NOV by 1,743.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,059,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $79,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785,015 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of NOV by 585.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,291,529 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $65,774,000 after buying an additional 4,519,957 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of NOV by 401.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,165,518 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $39,347,000 after buying an additional 2,534,815 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NOV by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,091,095 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $75,712,000 after buying an additional 1,302,214 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NOV by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,721,997 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $42,545,000 after buying an additional 1,178,838 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.