NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NPKI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NPK International in a report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on NPK International from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NPK International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.17.

NPK International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NPKI opened at $13.97 on Friday. NPK International has a one year low of $4.76 and a one year high of $14.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.16.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07. NPK International had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 9.93%. The firm had revenue of $68.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.83 million. Research analysts predict that NPK International will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of NPK International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NPKI. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in NPK International by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 10,804 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of NPK International by 200.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 223,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,527,000 after buying an additional 149,088 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in NPK International by 985.9% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 506,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after buying an additional 459,935 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in NPK International in the third quarter valued at $600,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in NPK International in the third quarter valued at $28,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NPK International Company Profile

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.