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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,616 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,353% compared to the typical daily volume of 180 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on NOV from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on NOV from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on NOV from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, ATB Capital restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.14.

Insider Transactions at NOV

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

Institutional Trading of NOV

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the third quarter worth about $36,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the third quarter worth about $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NOV by 1,590.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of NOV in the second quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOV opened at $14.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.65. NOV has a one year low of $13.94 and a one year high of $21.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.66.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.07%.

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.