Investors Purchase Large Volume of NOV Put Options (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,616 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

NOV Stock Up 0.2 %

NOV stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.89. 3,451,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,107,879. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.74. The firm's 50-day moving average is $19.07 and its 200-day moving average is $19.04. NOV has a 12 month low of $14.05 and a 12 month high of $21.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.03. NOV had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 11.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that NOV will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from NOV's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. NOV's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christy Lynn Novak sold 3,500 shares of NOV stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.43, for a total value of $61,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 114,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,990,715.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of NOV by 15.8% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,967 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of NOV by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 295,598 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 97,537 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in NOV by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,403 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in NOV by 4.7% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,135 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in NOV during the third quarter worth approximately $1,003,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on NOV shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on NOV from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on NOV from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on NOV from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NOV presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.07.

About NOV

NOV Inc designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products for oil and gas drilling and production, and industrial and renewable energy sectors in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Energy Equipment, and Energy Products and Services. The company provides solids control and waste management equipment and services, managed pressure drilling, drilling fluids, premium drillpipe, wired pipe, drilling optimization services, tubular inspection and coating services, instrumentation, downhole tools, and drill bits.