NOV (NYSE:NOV) Cut to “Neutral” at Citigroup

Citigroup lowered shares of NOV (NYSE:NOV) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $18.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $21.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NOV. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of NOV from $28.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on NOV from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of NOV from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NOV currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.64.

NOV Stock Performance

NOV opened at $16.21 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.54. NOV has a 1 year low of $14.98 and a 1 year high of $21.23. The stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

NOV Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NOV

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in NOV during the second quarter worth about $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in NOV by 1,590.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of NOV in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in NOV during the second quarter worth approximately $78,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.