NOV (NYSE:NOV) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• NOV shares reached a new 52-week high of $21.93, trading above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. However, the consensus analyst rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $21.31.
• NOV beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.31 in EPS versus the $0.17 consensus and revenue of $2.13 billion, although revenue declined 2.5% year over year and profitability remained modest.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09, representing a 1.7% annual yield, but its 138.46% payout ratio raises questions about dividend sustainability.

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $21.93 and last traded at $21.6590, with a volume of 63835 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of NOV from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of NOV in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded NOV from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.31.

NOV Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.02 and a 200-day moving average of $19.83. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.22 and a beta of 0.94.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 3.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NOV Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. NOV's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 138.46%.

Insider Activity at NOV

In related news, Director David Harrison sold 9,594 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.21, for a total transaction of $184,300.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 126,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,435,117.23. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOV. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of NOV by 133.6% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,411 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in NOV by 198.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NOV in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in shares of NOV by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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