NOV (NYSE:NOV) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• NOV hit a new 52-week high of $20.93 (last $20.8460) and is trading above its 50‑day ($19.34) and 200‑day ($17.22) moving averages, with a market cap around $7.42 billion.
• Analysts hold an overall “Hold” consensus with an average price target of $19.07—below the current share price—with 3 Buys, 12 Holds and 2 Sells.
• The company missed EPS for the quarter ($0.02 vs. $0.25 est.) while topping revenue estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 (1.8% yield) but has a high payout ratio (~94.7%) and recent insider selling.

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.93 and last traded at $20.8460, with a volume of 5845 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOV shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on NOV from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded NOV from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.07.

NOV Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.15 and a beta of 0.94.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). NOV had a return on equity of 3.57% and a net margin of 1.66%.The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that NOV Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from NOV's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. NOV's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NOV

In other NOV news, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total transaction of $1,405,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total transaction of $3,047,404.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 269,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 1st quarter valued at $2,331,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 1st quarter valued at $2,251,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of NOV by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 1st quarter valued at $607,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the 1st quarter valued at $818,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

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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