NOV (NYSE:NOV) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• NOV shares reached a new 52-week high of $21.91 and were recently trading about 3% higher, although analysts’ average rating remains “Hold” with an average price target of $21.31.
• The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.31 per share, beating estimates of $0.17, while revenue of $2.13 billion also exceeded expectations; however, revenue declined 2.5% year over year.
• NOV declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% annual yield, while institutional investors own a substantial 93.27% of the company’s outstanding stock.

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.91 and last traded at $21.3220, with a volume of 14500 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOV shares. Capital One Financial upgraded NOV from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of NOV from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $19.00 price target on NOV in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NOV presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.31.

NOV Trading Up 3.0%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 83.27 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.72.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.13 billion during 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%. NOV's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NOV Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NOV news, Director David D. Harrison sold 9,594 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.21, for a total transaction of $184,300.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 126,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,435,117.23. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NOV during the 2nd quarter worth $697,976,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NOV during the 2nd quarter worth $674,776,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 1,725.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,716,652 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $143,144,000 after purchasing an additional 7,293,818 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of NOV by 1,743.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,059,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $79,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785,015 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in NOV during the second quarter worth about $77,520,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently 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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