Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in NPK International Inc. $NPKI

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 47,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NPKI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NPK International during the second quarter worth approximately $51,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NPK International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,750,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,663 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,341,000. Conversant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,103,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter worth $22,351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NPK International news, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 108,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 884,326 shares in the company, valued at $12,442,466.82. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $28,806.03. Following the sale, the director owned 131,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,375.23. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

NPK International Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NPKI opened at $13.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.22. NPK International Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.76 and a 1-year high of $15.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.68 and a 200 day moving average of $12.41.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $75.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.02 million. NPK International had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 10.83%. On average, research analysts expect that NPK International Inc. will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NPKI. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NPK International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NPK International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.17.

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.