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How to buy National Oilwell Varco shares

Written by
Gyula L.
Fact checked by
Tamás D.
Updated
Apr 2024

So you've decided to invest in National Oilwell Varco stock but don't know where to do it? Your broker choice matters a lot, as some brokers don't offer this stock or only under poor conditions.

According to our research, low fees and great services make Interactive Brokers the best place to buy National Oilwell Varco shares. Read on for details, more options and a simple guide to buying shares.

Buy your National Oilwell Varco shares at Interactive Brokers
Gyula
Gyula Lencsés, CFA
Forex • Derivatives • Market Analysis

I have tested dozens of stockbrokers in my career. If I had to buy National Oilwell Varco shares, these are the brokers I would normally turn to, and I'll explain why:

  • Interactive Brokers, eToro and Fidelity are the best brokers for buying National Oilwell Varco shares.
  • Stock fee levels, broker safety and overall service quality guided my choice.
  • It takes just a few simple steps to invest in National Oilwell Varco shares.
  • Want to put these brokers under closer scrutiny? Compare them using our tools.

The best brokers for buying National Oilwell Varco shares

Of all the brokers that offer National Oilwell Varco shares, these are the ones that I think are best, based on stock trading fees, strength of regulation and the overall quality of broker features:

  1. Interactive Brokers - Extremely low fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
  2. eToro - Low stock and ETF fees. Seamless account opening. Social trading.
  3. Fidelity - Commission-free US stocks and ETFs. Great trading platforms and research. US and international stocks.
  4. Zacks Trade - Low fees. Extensive stock and ETF selection. Great customer service.
  5. Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.

Read on to learn why these features are important and exactly what fees apply to you at these brokers when buying National Oilwell Varco shares.

Fees, safety and other features at top brokers for National Oilwell Varco

So how to decide where to buy your National Oilwell Varco shares? First of all, since National Oilwell Varco is traded on the NYSE, you'll need to find a broker that allows access to the NYSE. This may sound trivial, but not all popular brokers you may have heard about in various forums offer stocks listed on the NYSE. Some may focus on specific European or Asian exchanges only, while others may not offer stocks at all.

You'll also need a safe and legit broker. In our view, a broker is considered legit if its operations are overseen by at least one top-tier regulator, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). At BrokerChooser, we only recommend such regulated brokers.

If you want to invest in National Oilwell Varco, you'll probably want to do so at the lowest cost possible. We chose brokers that charge nothing or only a very low commission for buying and selling stocks like National Oilwell Varco. Meanwhile, if you plan to hold your National Oilwell Varco shares for the long term, be aware of potential inactivity fees. These are charged by some brokers if you don't trade or otherwise use your account for an extended period of time.

And in general, it also helps if the broker offers good services overall, such as user-friendly trading platforms, easy funding or cool research tools. This is reflected in our overall score of each broker, also found in the table below.

Broker
US stock
US stock fees class
Interactive Brokers
$1.0
Low
eToro
$0.0
Low
Fidelity
$0.0
Low
Zacks Trade
$1.0
Low
Charles Schwab
$0.0
Low
Trading fees and other conditions at the top brokers for investing in National Oilwell Varco

It takes just a few steps to invest in National Oilwell Varco shares

Once you have settled on a broker, opening your account and buying your National Oilwell Varco shares is relatively straightforward:

Step 1: Open your brokerage account

Opening a broker account typically involves registering your details, providing some information about your investment experience, and then identifying yourself by uploading a few official documents. All of this takes place online and can be completed fairly quickly. However, following your registration, most brokers need some additional time - from a few minutes to a couple of days - to confirm your account and allow you to start trading.

Step 2: Deposit money to your account

To be able to buy your National Oilwell Varco stocks, you first need to deposit cash to your broker account. The most common way you can deposit money is by bank transfer, but many brokers also allow you to deposit by credit/debit card or even electronic wallets like PayPal. Deposits are usually free of charge, and the majority of brokers do not not have a minimum deposit requirement.

Broker
Minimum deposit
Bank transfer
Interactive Brokers
$0
eToro
$10
Fidelity
$0
Zacks Trade
$250
Charles Schwab
$0
Account opening and deposit conditions at the top brokers for investing in National Oilwell Varco

Step 3: Find and buy your National Oilwell Varco shares

To buy your National Oilwell Varco shares, you first need to locate it within your broker's trading platform. Just look for a search bar and enter 'National Oilwell Varco' or its stock exchange symbol, NOV. Some brokers also allow you to search for stocks based on country or sector - if you do that, all you need to remember is that National Oilwell Varco is a US Energy company that is famous as the leading worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, and supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry.

Once you found National Oilwell Varco, just enter the number of shares you want to buy, and click the 'buy' button. An increasing number of brokers also allow you to buy fractional shares - so for example you can buy National Oilwell Varco shares for just $10 or any other amount of your choice, even if the price of a single National Oilwell Varco share is much higher.

When placing a buy (or sell) order, you can choose from different order types. A 'market' buy order buys the stock immediately at the current market price, while a 'limit' order allows you to specify the exact price at which you want to buy the share.

Step 4: Review your National Oilwell Varco position regularly

Once you bought your National Oilwell Varco shares, it's a good idea to monitor the value of your investment, and see if you need to take any action - maybe sell some of your shares or maybe buy some more - to meet your investment goals.

If you're a short-term investor, you may consider using various order types to manage your holdings. For example, a take-profit order lets you set a price at which your stock is sold automatically to lock in profits; while a stop-loss order can help limit your losses if stock prices fall.

Compare top brokers

Want to find out more about these brokers and see how they stack up against one another - and other competitors - in various areas? Check out our broker comparison tool, where you can pin your favorite brokers or filter them according to your preferences.

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Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

author
Gyula Lencsés, CFA
Author of this article
Gyula is a former analyst expert and Head of Content at BrokerChooser. With over a decade in finance, he led content creation at BrokerChooser and personally evaluated some of our 100+ listed brokers. He opened real-money accounts, executed transactions, and engaged with customer services, offering firsthand assessments. Prior to BrokerChooser, he managed mutual funds in wealth management, trading stocks, ETFs, bonds, commodities, forex, and derivatives. His goal: simplify the hunt for top brokers in a dynamic investment landscape.
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