Investors Purchase Large Volume of NOV Put Options (NYSE:NOV)

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

NOV Price Performance

NYSE NOV opened at $15.99 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 5.90, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.66. NOV has a 1 year low of $14.98 and a 1 year high of $21.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.38.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of NOV stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total value of $28,722.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 110,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,786,311.10. This trade represents a 1.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of NOV in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of NOV during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in NOV by 1,590.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in NOV in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOV shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of NOV from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup cut NOV from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on NOV from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.64.

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.