Sigma Planning Corp Acquires New Position in NPK International Inc. $NPKI

Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in shares of NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NPKI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in NPK International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NPK International by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,750,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,663 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of NPK International during the second quarter worth $25,341,000. Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at $23,103,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of NPK International by 47.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,933,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,868,000 after purchasing an additional 619,914 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NPKI. Weiss Ratings downgraded NPK International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of NPK International in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.17.

NPK International Trading Up 0.1%

NPKI stock opened at $14.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.42. NPK International Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.35 and a 52 week high of $16.50.

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

Insider Transactions at NPK International

In other news, VP Lori Briggs sold 10,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.58, for a total transaction of $152,302.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 255,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,725,044.20. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.30, for a total transaction of $30,798.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 129,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,978,596. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 188,159 shares of company stock worth $2,721,117 in the last three months. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.