NOV (NYSE:NOV) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $16.69 and last traded at $16.5250, with a volume of 2607253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOV. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on NOV from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on NOV from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of NOV in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded NOV from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.25.

NOV Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.54 and a 200-day moving average of $13.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS 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%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christian S. Kendall purchased 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.46 per share, with a total value of $1,012,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 85,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,822.54. This represents a 438.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of NOV by 0.6% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 111,185 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in NOV by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 116,720 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in NOV by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 29,023 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in NOV by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,759 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of NOV by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 11,282 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NOV

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.