Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on NOV (NYSE:NOV)

Key Points

• Investors engaged in a significant trading surge, purchasing 2,616 put options for NOV, marking a 1,353% increase compared to typical volumes of 180 options.
• JPMorgan Chase downgraded NOV from an "overweight" rating to "neutral," lowering its price target from $17.00 to $15.00, while other analysts adjusted targets down to as low as $14.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%, amidst a backdrop of hedge fund activity increasing holdings significantly in NOV.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOV has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of NOV from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of NOV from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of NOV in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of NOV from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.79.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOV opened at $12.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.72. NOV has a 1-year low of $10.84 and a 1-year high of $16.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.81.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). NOV had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. NOV's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. NOV has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. NOV's payout ratio is 24.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOV. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 585.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,291,529 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $65,774,000 after buying an additional 4,519,957 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 101.0% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 7,018,950 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $87,246,000 after buying an additional 3,526,754 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 88.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,146,949 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $107,276,000 after buying an additional 3,362,853 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 401.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,165,518 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $39,347,000 after buying an additional 2,534,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of NOV in the first quarter worth $33,742,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

NOV Company Profile

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.

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