First Pacific Advisors LP Makes New Investment in NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV)

First Pacific Advisors LP acquired a new stake in NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,705,128 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,495,000. First Pacific Advisors LP owned 0.70% of NOV at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in NOV by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,060 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC raised its position in shares of NOV by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 15,050 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of NOV by 222.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in NOV by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,983 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in NOV by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 59,895 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

NOV Trading Up 4.6 %

NOV stock opened at $15.00 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.64. NOV Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.77 and a fifty-two week high of $21.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.66.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 7.16%. Analysts expect that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. ATB Capital reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of NOV from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $25.00) on shares of NOV in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.60.

NOV 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.