NOV Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

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

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,405,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 256,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in NOV by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,384 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of NOV by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 111,185 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in NOV by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,578 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in NOV by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 116,720 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in NOV by 2.6% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 29,023 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

NOV Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE:NOV traded down $0.50 on Thursday, reaching $19.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,272,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,931,199. NOV has a 12-month low of $10.84 and a 12-month high of $20.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.03 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.35 and a 200 day moving average of $15.64.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. NOV’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NOV will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NOV. Piper Sandler upped their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of NOV from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.57.

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.