NOV Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NOV)

Key Points

• On Wednesday, traders purchased a record 2,616 put options for NOV Inc., marking a significant increase of 1,353% from the average volume of 180 put options.
• Institutional investors hold 93.27% of NOV's stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Signaturefd LLC and ProShare Advisors LLC.
• NOV recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.3%.

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,616 put options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately1,353% compared to the average volume of 180 put options.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,113,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,027,323. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.34. NOV has a 1-year low of $10.84 and a 1-year high of $17.12.

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

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. NOV's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in NOV during the first quarter worth $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in NOV during the second quarter worth $35,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NOV during the first quarter worth $36,000. CX Institutional purchased a new position in NOV during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in NOV by 395.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,660 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,921 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOV. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on NOV from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on NOV from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on NOV from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on NOV from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NOV has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.56.

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.