NOV (NYSE:NOV) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded NOV from “strong buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “hold,” with a consensus price target of $21.31.
• NOV shares opened at $20.83 and were trading up 3.0%, near their 12-month high of $21.67. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, beating estimates of $0.17, while revenue reached $2.13 billion but declined 2.5% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 93.27% of NOV’s shares, while an insider recently sold 9,594 shares. Analysts’ views remain mixed, ranging from “sell” to “buy,” with price targets between $21 and $26.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NOV. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NOV from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore upgraded shares of NOV to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on NOV from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on NOV from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.31.

NOV Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE NOV opened at $20.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $19.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.71. NOV has a twelve month low of $12.28 and a twelve month high of $21.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.13 and a beta of 0.92.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. NOV had a return on equity of 3.44% and a net margin of 1.10%.The company's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NOV will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NOV

In other NOV news, Director David D. Harrison sold 9,594 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.21, for a total transaction of $184,300.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 126,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,435,117.23. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOV. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of NOV by 39.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in NOV by 659.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in NOV by 50.1% during 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 period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NOV during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in shares of NOV by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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