Royce & Associates LP Decreases Stake in NPK International Inc. $NPKI

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,185,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 256,670 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 2.59% of NPK International worth $26,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NPKI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter worth $141,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter worth $270,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter worth $191,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter worth $633,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter worth $710,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NPK International

In related news, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 15,000 shares of NPK International stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.04, for a total value of $225,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 819,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,322,663.04. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 2,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.30, for a total value of $30,798.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 129,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,978,596. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. 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 sold 161,603 shares of company stock valued at $2,305,670 in the last ninety days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NPK International Stock Performance

Shares of NPKI opened at $15.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.40. NPK International Inc. has a one year low of $7.92 and a one year high of $16.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.91 and a 200 day moving average of $13.76.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. NPK International had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company had revenue of $75.07 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NPK International Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered NPK International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NPK International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.17.

NPK International Profile

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.