NOV Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,616 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,353% compared to the average daily volume of 180 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of NOV from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of NOV from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of NOV from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of NOV from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.31.

NOV Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NOV stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,281,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,851,605. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $12.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.65. NOV has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $21.20.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. NOV had a net margin of 6.68% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NOV will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a yield of 3.63%. NOV's payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in NOV during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of NOV by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,200 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of NOV by 282.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NOV in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of NOV by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

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.