NOV Inc. $NOV Stake Cut by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG sharply cut its NOV stake in the fourth quarter, reducing holdings by 68.2% after selling more than 1.3 million shares. The firm still owned 611,125 shares valued at about $9.55 million.
• NOV missed earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting EPS of $0.05 versus analysts’ $0.17 estimate, though revenue of $2.05 billion matched forecasts. Revenue was down 2.4% year over year.
• Insiders and analysts remain cautious: two executives sold large blocks of shares, and the stock currently carries a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average target price of $19.36. NOV also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 per share.

UBS Group AG reduced its holdings in NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Free Report) by 68.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 611,125 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 1,311,204 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.17% of NOV worth $9,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in NOV in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in NOV by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,109 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in NOV in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in NOV by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,083 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in NOV by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,595 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NOV stock opened at $20.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.77 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $19.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.47. NOV Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.65 and a twelve month high of $20.93.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.05% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that NOV Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This is an increase from NOV's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. NOV's payout ratio is 150.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NOV news, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president owned 256,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,146,885.52. This trade represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total value of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 269,694 shares in the company, valued at $5,439,727.98. This trade represents a 35.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOV has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore raised NOV to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of NOV in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NOV from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued 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 $19.36.

About NOV

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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