NOV (NYSE:NOV) Downgraded by TD Cowen to "Hold"

Key Points

• TD Cowen downgraded NOV from "strong-buy" to a Hold, and the stock's consensus rating across analysts is currently Hold with an average price target of $18.57.
• NOV reported an EPS miss for the quarter ($0.02 vs. $0.25 expected) despite revenues of $2.28 billion beating estimates, highlighting weak profitability (net margin 1.66%).
• Company insiders (including Joseph W. Rovig and VP Craig L. Weinstock) sold large blocks of shares in February, while institutional investors own about 93.27% of the stock.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NOV. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 price objective on NOV in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.57.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV stock opened at $18.82 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.84. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. NOV has a twelve month low of $10.84 and a twelve month high of $20.85.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NOV

In other news, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total transaction of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,146,885.52. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in NOV by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,721 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 6,711 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in NOV by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 161,927 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 42,462 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in NOV by 17.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,062,292 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $16,168,000 after buying an additional 157,385 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in NOV during the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in NOV by 14.0% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 48,627 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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