NOV (NYSE:NOV) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $14.58, but opened at $16.18. NOV shares last traded at $15.84, with a volume of 483,865 shares traded.

The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 12.05%.

NOV Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. ATB Capital reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup downgraded shares of NOV from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on NOV from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NOV presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David D. Harrison sold 1,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total value of $28,722.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 110,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,786,311.10. This represents a 1.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of NOV by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,729 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in NOV by 2.1% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 49,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of NOV by 11.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,060 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of NOV by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 15,050 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of NOV by 222.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NOV Trading Up 12.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.93 and a 200-day moving average of $16.16.

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.