Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in NOV Inc. $NOV

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) by 99.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,626 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,675 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in NOV were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in NOV by 401.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,165,518 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $39,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534,815 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of NOV by 43.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,596,504 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $100,654,000 after buying an additional 2,304,975 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NOV by 27.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,091,095 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $75,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,214 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in NOV in the third quarter worth $14,114,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NOV by 361.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,252,182 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $16,591,000 after purchasing an additional 981,028 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Price Performance

Shares of NOV stock opened at $18.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.36 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.14 and its 200 day moving average is $16.57. NOV Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.84 and a 1-year high of $20.85.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is a boost from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. NOV’s payout ratio is 94.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total transaction of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 269,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total transaction of $1,405,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 256,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOV shares. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Argus raised NOV to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded NOV from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.57.

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.