NOV Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,616 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

NOV Stock Performance

NYSE NOV opened at $14.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. NOV has a twelve month low of $13.94 and a twelve month high of $21.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.43.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. NOV’s payout ratio is 11.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NOV

In other NOV news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total transaction of $28,722.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 110,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,786,311.10. This represents a 1.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in NOV in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of NOV by 222.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of NOV during the third quarter worth $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in NOV by 1,590.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in NOV in the third quarter valued at $48,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NOV shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on NOV from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

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.