Van ECK Associates Corp Buys New Stake in NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. $NWPX

Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 35,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,378,000. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.37% of NWPX Infrastructure at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWPX. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NWPX Infrastructure by 274.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 21,179 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure during the first quarter worth about $224,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 17.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 44,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 5.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 2,547 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 3.7% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 31,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. 80.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NWPX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NWPX Infrastructure in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on NWPX Infrastructure in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NWPX Infrastructure currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.00.

NWPX Infrastructure Stock Performance

Shares of NWPX stock opened at $109.88 on Thursday. NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.25 and a 12 month high of $152.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.40.

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.29. NWPX Infrastructure had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 8.49%.The company had revenue of $159.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.70 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NWPX Infrastructure news, CFO Aaron Wilkins sold 428 shares of NWPX Infrastructure stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $51,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at $3,107,760. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott J. Montross sold 1,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.58, for a total value of $135,681.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,729,763.16. The trade was a 1.73% 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. Insiders have sold 16,077 shares of company stock worth $1,866,289 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

NWPX Infrastructure Company Profile

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications.