NOV (NYSE:NOV) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.24 and last traded at $15.28, with a volume of 821744 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded NOV to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of NOV from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lowered 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on NOV from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of NOV from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.57.

NOV Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.54 and its 200 day moving average is $17.89. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.67.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. NOV had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 11.88%. As a group, research analysts predict that NOV Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NOV Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of NOV

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOV. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 0.3% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of NOV by 40.0% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 3,470,860 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of NOV by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,928,911 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $188,749,000 after buying an additional 3,989,095 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of NOV during the 1st quarter worth approximately $119,686,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NOV by 232.6% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 3,418,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.