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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 2,616 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

NOV Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NOV opened at $16.85 on Thursday. NOV has a 12 month low of $16.73 and a 12 month high of $21.91. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.45.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.22. NOV had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. NOV’s payout ratio is 12.05%.

Institutional Trading of NOV

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOV. Barclays lifted their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on NOV from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on NOV from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded NOV to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.58.

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.