Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI - Free Report) by 86.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,740 shares of the company's stock after selling 325,883 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.06% of NPK International worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Electron Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of NPK International in the first quarter valued at $15,938,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in NPK International by 46.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,539,088 shares of the company's stock worth $22,301,000 after purchasing an additional 486,846 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in NPK International during the fourth quarter valued at $1,369,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in NPK International by 121.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 837,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,130,000 after purchasing an additional 459,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in NPK International by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 580,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,919,000 after purchasing an additional 80,507 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NPK International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on NPKI

NPK International Price Performance

NPK International stock opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. NPK International Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.65 and a 12-month high of $16.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 1.26.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. NPK International had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $81.58 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NPK International Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NPK International

In other news, CEO Matthew Lanigan sold 167,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.43, for a total transaction of $2,415,221.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,306.57. This represents a 39.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Lori Briggs sold 10,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.58, for a total value of $152,302.68. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 255,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,725,044.20. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 186,146 shares of company stock valued at $2,690,318 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

NPK International Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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