Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on NOV (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 12,510 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,628% compared to the average daily volume of 724 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in NOV in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in NOV during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in NOV in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of NOV during the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of NOV in the second quarter worth $78,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on NOV. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of NOV in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of NOV from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on NOV from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.42.

NOV Stock Performance

NYSE NOV opened at $16.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.89 and a 200-day moving average of $18.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. NOV has a 1-year low of $15.47 and a 1-year high of $21.71. The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.67.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. NOV had a net margin of 11.88% and a return on equity of 10.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.05%.

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.