NOV (NYSE:NOV) Given New $20.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

NOV (NYSE:NOV) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.41% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NOV. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.57.

NOV Price Performance

NYSE:NOV traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.34. 1,918,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,860,509. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.61. NOV has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $20.85. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.90 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.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NOV

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 stock was sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 269,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in NOV in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of NOV in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NOV by 659.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in NOV by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in NOV by 37.9% in the fourth 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. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NOV Company Profile

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.