Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in NPK International Inc. $NPKI

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) by 82.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166,121 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in NPK International were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NPKI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in NPK International in the second quarter valued at $51,903,000. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in NPK International in the second quarter valued at $25,341,000. Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new position in NPK International in the second quarter valued at $23,103,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in shares of NPK International in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,926,000. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NPK International during the second quarter worth about $12,917,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NPK International

In other news, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.30, for a total value of $30,798.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 129,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,978,596. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 108,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.07, for a total transaction of $1,527,861.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 884,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,442,466.82. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 161,603 shares of company stock worth $2,305,670. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

NPK International Price Performance

Shares of NPKI opened at $15.11 on Friday. NPK International Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.92 and a 1-year high of $16.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that NPK International Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on NPKI shares. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NPK International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NPK International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.17.

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.