Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on NOV (NYSE:NOV)

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 20,108 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,464% compared to the average volume of 1,286 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on NOV shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded NOV from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Raymond James raised their target price on NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of NOV from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of NOV in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NOV has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.19.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.86. 4,526,514 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,869,058. NOV has a one year low of $10.84 and a one year high of $21.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.54 and a 200-day moving average of $15.11.

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NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 9.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. NOV's dividend payout ratio is 18.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of NOV by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,793,128 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $245,178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,243 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in NOV by 12,344.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,309,433 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $179,718,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210,514 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NOV by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,697,650 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $97,815,000 after buying an additional 302,009 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,718,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $83,489,000 after buying an additional 1,652,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of NOV by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,182,044 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $75,658,000 after buying an additional 938,866 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.