DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on DNOW. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of DNOW from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

DNOW Stock Up 0.7 %

DNOW opened at $16.24 on Friday. DNOW has a 52-week low of $11.42 and a 52-week high of $18.45. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.55.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 9.04%. On average, research analysts anticipate that DNOW will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DNOW announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $160.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DNOW

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DNOW. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of DNOW by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,091,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,212,000 after buying an additional 25,402 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of DNOW by 186.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 51,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 33,520 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of DNOW by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of DNOW by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,843,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,985,000 after buying an additional 112,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of DNOW by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,307,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $82,063,000 after buying an additional 543,403 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.63% of the company’s stock.

About DNOW

DNOW Inc distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items.