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

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 2,616 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,353% compared to the average daily volume of 180 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NOV shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of NOV from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total transaction of $28,722.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 110,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,786,311.10. This represents a 1.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOV. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in NOV during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of NOV during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in NOV during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

NOV Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NOV stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $14.43. 3,441,630 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,815,241. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.57. NOV has a twelve month low of $13.94 and a twelve month high of $21.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $15.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.32, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.66.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. NOV's payout ratio is 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.