NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

NPKI has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of NPK International from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.17.

NPK International Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NPKI opened at $12.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 1.28. NPK International has a 12-month low of $4.76 and a 12-month high of $14.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.07. The company had revenue of $68.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.83 million. NPK International had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 12.74%. Analysts predict that NPK International will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NPK International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,615,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new position in NPK International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in NPK International in the second quarter worth approximately $210,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in NPK International in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in NPK International in the second quarter valued at approximately $458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.