Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on NOV (NYSE:NOV)

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

NOV Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOV opened at $18.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.20. NOV has a fifty-two week low of $14.05 and a fifty-two week high of $21.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $1.10. NOV had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. NOV’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that NOV will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOV shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. ATB Capital set a $33.00 price target on shares of NOV and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of NOV from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NOV currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christy Lynn Novak sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.43, for a total value of $61,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 114,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,990,715.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in NOV by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,480 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in NOV by 85.4% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,259 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in NOV by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,280 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in NOV by 3.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,956 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in NOV by 94.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,287 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.