NOV (NYSE:NOV) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• NOV shares reached a new 52-week high of $21.59, while the stock’s average analyst rating remains “Hold” with an average price target of $21.31. Recent analysts have issued mixed views, including upgrades to “Strong Buy” and “Overweight.”
• NOV’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.31 versus the $0.17 consensus and revenue of $2.13 billion versus $2.08 billion expected, although revenue declined 2.5% year over year.
• The company paid a special dividend of $0.09 per share, while institutional investors own a substantial 93.27% of NOV’s stock; an insider director recently sold 9,594 shares.

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $21.59 and last traded at $21.53, with a volume of 1386491 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised NOV from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Capital One Financial raised NOV from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. 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 Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $19.00 price objective on NOV in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.31.

NOV Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 82.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $19.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.59.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 3.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NOV Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 170.0%. NOV's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 138.46%.

Insider Activity at NOV

In related news, Director David D. Harrison sold 9,594 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.21, for a total value of $184,300.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 126,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,435,117.23. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in NOV by 39.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in NOV by 659.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of NOV by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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