114,858 Shares in NPK International Inc. $NPKI Purchased by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP initiated a new position in NPK International, buying 114,858 shares valued at about $1.37 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding 80.81% of the stock; several firms, including Tudor Investment and JPMorgan Chase, significantly increased their stakes.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CFO Gregg Piontek and Director Michael A. Lewis, while the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates with $0.12 per share versus $0.11 expected.

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 114,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.14% of NPK International as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in NPK International by 985.9% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 506,585 shares of the company's stock worth $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 459,935 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in NPK International by 200.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 223,464 shares of the company's stock worth $2,527,000 after purchasing an additional 149,088 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in NPK International by 13.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,971,066 shares of the company's stock worth $33,603,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares during the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NPK International by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 92,114 shares of the company's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 42,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NPK International by 95.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,976 shares of the company's stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 38,992 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NPK International

In other news, CFO Gregg Piontek sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.04, for a total value of $225,600.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.30, for a total transaction of $30,798.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 129,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,978,596. This trade 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 163,616 shares of company stock worth $2,334,476. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

NPK International Stock Performance

Shares of NPKI stock opened at $15.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.58. NPK International Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.63 and a 52 week high of $16.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.68.

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $75.07 million for the quarter. NPK International had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 10.56%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NPK International Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NPKI has been the topic of several research reports. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of NPK International in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NPK International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NPK International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.17.

NPK International Company 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.

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