NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.8333.

NOV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on NOV from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on NOV from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on NOV from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded NOV from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th.

NOV Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NOV stock opened at $15.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.55. NOV has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $16.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.97.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.13). NOV had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NOV will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is 30.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NOV

In related news, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 70,000 shares of NOV stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $1,012,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 85,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,822.54. This represents a 438.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of NOV by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 42,708,890 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $530,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,486 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in NOV by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,578,053 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $246,159,000 after acquiring an additional 161,414 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 43.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,596,504 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $100,654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304,975 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NOV by 88.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,146,949 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $107,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,362,853 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its position in NOV by 101.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 7,018,950 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $87,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526,754 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NOV

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.