Short Interest in NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) Expands By 30.1%

NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,449,347 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the February 26th total of 1,114,439 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 846,009 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

NPK International Price Performance

NYSE:NPKI traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.60. The stock had a trading volume of 751,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 776,593. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 1.23. NPK International has a 52 week low of $4.76 and a 52 week high of $15.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.43.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. NPK International had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 14.06%.The firm had revenue of $75.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.02 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NPK International will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 108,590 shares of NPK International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.07, for a total transaction of $1,527,861.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 884,326 shares in the company, valued at $12,442,466.82. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of NPK International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $28,806.03. Following the sale, the director owned 131,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,375.23. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,603 shares of company stock worth $1,570,227. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NPK International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of NPK International in the fourth quarter worth about $169,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new stake in NPK International during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of NPK International by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 1,478 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NPK International in the 4th quarter valued at about $146,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $992,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NPKI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NPK International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NPK International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.