NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 2,616 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,353% compared to the average daily volume of 180 put options.
In other news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total transaction of $28,722.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 110,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,786,311.10. This trade represents a 1.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOV. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in NOV during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of NOV in the third quarter worth $36,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in NOV in the third quarter valued at $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,735 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in NOV during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.
A number of research firms have commented on NOV. Bank of America lowered their price objective on NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup cut NOV from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of NOV from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.14.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on NOV
NYSE NOV opened at $14.50 on Thursday. NOV has a twelve month low of $13.94 and a twelve month high of $21.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $15.56 and its 200 day moving average is $16.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.66.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. NOV's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.07%.
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.
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