NPK International Inc. $NPKI Shares Acquired by Wasatch Advisors LP

Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,899,021 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 683,116 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 3.43% of NPK International worth $42,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in NPK International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $141,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter valued at about $270,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter worth about $191,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter worth about $633,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of NPK International during the second quarter worth about $710,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NPK International from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.17.

NPK International Stock Performance

NPKI opened at $15.60 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.19. NPK International Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.17 and a 52-week high of $16.50. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $75.07 million during the quarter. NPK International had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Equities analysts anticipate that NPK International Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NPK International

In related news, VP Lori Briggs sold 10,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.58, for a total value of $152,302.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 255,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,725,044.20. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 129,320 shares in the company, valued at $1,978,596. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 238,159 shares of company stock worth $3,454,567. 4.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NPK International 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.