NOV (NYSE:NOV) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.03 and traded as high as $20.24. NOV shares last traded at $20.1860, with a volume of 3,441,094 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOV. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 target price on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of NOV from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on NOV from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.23.

NOV Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.60.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.14. NOV had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NOV Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. NOV’s payout ratio is 138.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Harrison sold 9,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.21, for a total value of $184,300.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 126,763 shares in the company, valued at $2,435,117.23. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOV. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NOV by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,939 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in NOV by 237.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 35,772 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 25,181 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NOV by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,632 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of NOV during the third quarter valued at approximately $386,000. Finally, MBL Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NOV during the third quarter valued at about $385,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NOV

NOV Inc (NYSE: NOV) is a Houston-based technology and equipment provider serving the global energy industry. The company develops and manufactures products and systems used in oil and natural gas drilling, well construction, completion and production operations.

Its offerings include land and offshore drilling rigs, rig equipment and components, downhole tools, drill pipe, wellbore technologies, pressure-control systems, and equipment used to enhance production. NOV also provides aftermarket parts, technical support, maintenance and other services designed to help energy companies operate and maintain their equipment.

The company was formed in 2005 through the merger of National Oilwell and Varco International, building on businesses with much longer histories in the oilfield equipment industry.