NOV Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 20,108 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,464% compared to the average volume of 1,286 call options.

NOV Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOV opened at $11.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.35. NOV has a 12-month low of $11.24 and a 12-month high of $21.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOV. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of NOV in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised NOV from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in NOV by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,793,128 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $245,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,243 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in NOV by 12,344.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,309,433 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $179,718,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210,514 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NOV by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,697,650 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $97,815,000 after acquiring an additional 302,009 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of NOV by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,718,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $83,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in NOV by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,182,044 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $75,658,000 after buying an additional 938,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.