NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) Hits New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $15.73 and last traded at $15.5490, with a volume of 154540 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.30.

The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. NPK International had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The company had revenue of $75.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.02 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NPKI. HC Wainwright upped their price target on NPK International from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NPK International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $28,806.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,375.23. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NPK International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter worth $51,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in NPK International by 0.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in NPK International during the second quarter valued at $25,341,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in NPK International by 13.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,971,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,603,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares during the period. Finally, Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter worth about $23,103,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NPK International Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.05 and a beta of 1.29.

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.