NOV (NYSE:NOV) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $15.26, but opened at $15.95. NOV shares last traded at $15.80, with a volume of 887,469 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of NOV to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of NOV in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on NOV from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on NOV from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on NOV from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.57.

NOV Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.89, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.50 and a 200 day moving average of $17.84.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). NOV had a net margin of 11.88% and a return on equity of 10.97%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Research analysts anticipate that NOV Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. NOV’s payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NOV by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 35,175,886 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $668,694,000 after purchasing an additional 103,238 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in NOV by 40.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,138,093 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $230,743,000 after buying an additional 3,470,860 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in NOV by 67.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,928,911 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $188,749,000 after buying an additional 3,989,095 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of NOV during the first quarter worth approximately $119,686,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NOV by 232.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,888,891 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $92,938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,418,885 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NOV Company Profile

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.