678,760 Shares in NPK International Inc. $NPKI Bought by Ancora Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors acquired 678,760 shares of NPK International in the second quarter, worth approximately $10.8 million and representing 0.80% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 80.81% of NPKI.
• NPK International insiders sold 188,159 shares worth about $2.72 million over the past three months, including sizable sales by the CEO and a vice president under pre-arranged trading plans.
• NPKI recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.15 in EPS versus a $0.13 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an $18 price target, compared with the stock’s recent price of $13.21.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 678,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,799,000. Ancora Advisors LLC owned 0.80% of NPK International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tieton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NPK International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,060,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of NPK International in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,859,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of NPK International by 21.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 240,022 shares of the company's stock worth $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 42,308 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NPK International during the first quarter worth $15,938,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of NPK International by 50.4% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 37,493 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,564 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NPK International

In related news, CEO Matthew Lanigan sold 167,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.43, for a total value of $2,415,221.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,306.57. This trade represents a 39.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Lori Briggs sold 10,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.58, for a total transaction of $152,302.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 255,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,725,044.20. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,159 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,023. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NPK International Price Performance

NYSE:NPKI opened at $13.21 on Wednesday. NPK International Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.11 and a 52-week high of $16.50. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $14.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.50.

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 return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 14.19%.The firm had revenue of $81.58 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NPK International Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NPKI. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NPK International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of NPK International in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

About NPK International

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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