Investors Buy Large Volume of NOV Put Options (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 2,616 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,353% compared to the average volume of 180 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOV. Atb Cap Markets downgraded NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. ATB Capital restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on NOV from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of NOV in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NOV has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.60.

NOV Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:NOV opened at $15.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.47. NOV has a 1-year low of $13.78 and a 1-year high of $21.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.66.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 7.16%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. NOV’s payout ratio is presently 18.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOV. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in NOV by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,200 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NOV by 282.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of NOV by 222.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in NOV by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.