NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) Trading Down 6.8% – What’s Next?

NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) shares traded down 6.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $14.11 and last traded at $15.2330. 340,946 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 735,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of NPK International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.17.

NPK International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.41.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $75.07 million during the quarter. NPK International had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 10.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that NPK International Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NPK International news, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.04, for a total value of $225,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 819,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,322,663.04. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 161,603 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,677 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NPK International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NPKI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter worth $141,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at $270,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at $191,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at $633,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at $710,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NPK International

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.