NOV Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 20,436 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,950% compared to the typical daily volume of 997 call options.

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOV traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.87. 8,698,719 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,355,582. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.40. NOV has a one year low of $14.05 and a one year high of $21.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.16.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.03. NOV had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of NOV from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Benchmark cut shares of NOV from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut their price target on NOV from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insider Transactions at NOV

In other NOV news, CAO Christy Lynn Novak sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.43, for a total transaction of $61,005.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 114,212 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,715.16. 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOV. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of NOV during the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in NOV by 5.4% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 543,884 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $10,617,000 after acquiring an additional 27,986 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management lifted its position in shares of NOV by 264.6% in the first quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 39,061 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 28,348 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of NOV in the first quarter worth about $2,082,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in NOV by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 113,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

About NOV

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.