NOV (NYSE:NOV) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.05 and last traded at $18.0040, with a volume of 330978 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NOV. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on NOV from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of NOV from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of NOV from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.92.

NOV Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.95 and its 200 day moving average is $14.14. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.95.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.13). NOV had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 4.36%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. NOV’s payout ratio is 30.00%.

Insider Activity

In other NOV news, Director Christian S. Kendall bought 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $1,012,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,822.54. This represents a 438.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in NOV by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,109 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in NOV by 395.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,660 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in NOV by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NOV by 123.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,379 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.