Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in DNOW Inc. (NYSE:DNOW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in DNOW Inc. (NYSE:DNOW) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 187,685 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 69,527 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of DNOW worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in DNOW by 1.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in DNOW by 186.4% in 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 during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in DNOW by 72.4% in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in DNOW by 6.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in DNOW by 9.4% in 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 during the last quarter. 97.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

DNOW Stock Performance

DNOW opened at $15.28 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.71 and a 200-day moving average of $14.87. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93 and a beta of 1.20. DNOW Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.42 and a 1-year high of $18.45.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $599.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.17 million. DNOW had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that DNOW Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DNOW declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $160.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DNOW. StockNews.com raised shares of DNOW from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of DNOW from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of DNOW from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

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.