William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New $23.01 Million Investment in NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. $NWPX

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 469,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,010,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 7,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NWPX Infrastructure in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its stake in NWPX Infrastructure by 193.9% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in NWPX Infrastructure by 1.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 30,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NWPX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NWPX Infrastructure in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut NWPX Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on NWPX Infrastructure in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded NWPX Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott J. Montross sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 76,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,039,557.46. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Aaron Wilkins sold 428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $51,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,107,760. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,410. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

NWPX Infrastructure Stock Performance

NWPX Infrastructure stock opened at $110.08 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.46 and a 200-day moving average of $104.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.09. NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.25 and a 1 year high of $152.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.29. NWPX Infrastructure had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The business had revenue of $159.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.70 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

About NWPX Infrastructure

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications.