NOV (NYSE:NOV) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

NOV (NYSE:NOV) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.23), Zacks reports. NOV had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 5.89%.

NOV Price Performance

NOV stock traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.34. The stock had a trading volume of 8,767,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,821,286. NOV has a 1-year low of $10.84 and a 1-year high of $19.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. NOV’s payout ratio is presently 30.00%.

Insider Activity

In other NOV news, Director Christian S. Kendall acquired 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $1,012,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 this link. 1.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOV. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of NOV by 15.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,721 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of NOV by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 161,927 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 42,462 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in NOV by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,062,292 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $16,168,000 after buying an additional 157,385 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in NOV during the 1st quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in NOV during the second quarter worth $190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NOV shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of NOV from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of NOV in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on NOV from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.31.

NOV Company Profile

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.