NOV (NYSE:NOV) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

NOV (NYSE:NOV) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Capital One Financial raised NOV from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Susquehanna upped their price target on NOV from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $19.00 price objective on NOV in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Evercore raised NOV to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.31.

NOV Price Performance

NOV opened at $20.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.13 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.71. NOV has a 12-month low of $12.28 and a 12-month high of $21.67.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 3.44%. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that NOV will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David D. Harrison sold 9,594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.21, for a total value of $184,300.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 126,763 shares in the company, valued at $2,435,117.23. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NOV

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOV. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 659.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of NOV by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NOV during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its holdings in NOV by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.