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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 2,616 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,353% compared to the average volume of 180 put options.

NOV Stock Performance

NOV stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,627,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,917,052. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.35 and a 200-day moving average of $15.64. NOV has a 52 week low of $10.84 and a 52 week high of $20.85.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NOV. Barclays raised shares of NOV from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NOV currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NOV news, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,146,885.52. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total value of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 269,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 1,845.9% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 235,081 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 223,000 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its position in NOV by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 670,199 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $8,880,000 after acquiring an additional 166,692 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in NOV by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 141,506 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in shares of NOV during the third quarter worth $3,978,000. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the third quarter valued at $4,969,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NOV

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.