NOV (NYSE:NOV) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.60 and last traded at $21.4650, with a volume of 804 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOV shares. Evercore upgraded NOV to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of NOV in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NOV from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.43.

NOV Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 87.46 and a beta of 0.89.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.05% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NOV Inc. will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 180.0%. NOV’s payout ratio is 150.00%.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in NOV by 1,743.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,059,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $79,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785,015 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NOV by 401.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,165,518 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $39,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534,815 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in NOV by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,596,504 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $100,654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304,975 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in NOV by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,721,997 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $42,545,000 after buying an additional 1,178,838 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,114,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Company Profile

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.