NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) Stock Price Down 8.4% – What’s Next?

NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI)’s share price dropped 8.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.67 and last traded at $14.5680. 497,185 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 843,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NPKI. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NPK International in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut NPK International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.17.

NPK International Trading Up 0.0%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. NPK International had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $75.07 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NPK International Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NPK International

In other news, VP Lori Briggs sold 8,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.75, for a total transaction of $122,793.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 247,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,645,683.75. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.04, for a total value of $225,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 819,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,322,663.04. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 203,159 shares of company stock valued at $2,946,717 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NPK International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in NPK International during the second quarter valued at about $141,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $270,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $191,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $633,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $710,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NPK International

NPK International, Inc (NYSE: NPKI) is a specialty chemical distributor supplying a broad range of industrial and performance materials across diverse end-markets. Its product portfolio includes acetic acid and derivatives, alcohols, ketones, esters, glycol ethers, glycols, specialty solvents, select inorganic chemicals and crop-protection intermediates. These materials serve industries such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, oil and gas, personal care, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and water treatment.

The company places a strong emphasis on supply-chain security and technical service, maintaining warehousing, logistics support and laboratory capabilities at its regional distribution centers.