Walleye Capital LLC Buys Shares of 58,425 NPK International Inc. $NPKI

Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 58,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $847,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NPKI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in NPK International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,750,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,725,000 after acquiring an additional 19,663 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in NPK International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,341,000. Conversant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NPK International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,103,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in NPK International by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,933,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,868,000 after purchasing an additional 619,914 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NPK International

In other NPK International news, CEO Matthew Lanigan sold 167,375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.43, for a total transaction of $2,415,221.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,699 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,306.57. This represents a 39.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Lori Briggs sold 10,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.58, for a total transaction of $152,302.68. Following the sale, the vice president owned 255,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,725,044.20. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,159 shares of company stock valued at $2,721,117. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

NPK International Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE NPKI opened at $14.25 on Friday. NPK International Inc. has a one year low of $8.63 and a one year high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NPK International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NPK International in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three research 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.17.

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.