Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Enpro Inc. (NYSE:NPO)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. invested approximately $349,000 in Enpro Inc. by purchasing 2,159 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 98.31% of Enpro's stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds following various stakes being adjusted.
• Shares of Enpro received multiple analyst upgrades, with Oppenheimer raising its price target to $240.00 and indicating an "outperform" rating.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Enpro Inc. (NYSE:NPO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NPO. Capital International Investors grew its position in Enpro by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 964,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $166,323,000 after acquiring an additional 60,998 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enpro by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $163,947,000 after purchasing an additional 36,501 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Enpro by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 717,456 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $123,725,000 after purchasing an additional 7,911 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Enpro in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,825,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enpro by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 537,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,719,000 after purchasing an additional 101,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.31% of the company's stock.

Enpro Stock Performance

Shares of NPO stock traded down $1.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 101,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,401. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $199.59 and a 200-day moving average of $181.77. Enpro Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.50 and a 52 week high of $229.54.

Enpro (NYSE:NPO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $288.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.83 million. Enpro had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 10.49%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Enpro Inc. will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Enpro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Enpro's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NPO. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Enpro from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Enpro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Sidoti raised Enpro to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Enpro from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Enpro Profile

Enpro Inc design, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary, value-added products and solutions to safeguard critical environments in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Sealing Technologies and Advanced Surface Technologies. The Sealing Technologies segment offers single-use hygienic seals, tubing, components and assemblies; metallic, non-metallic, and composite material gaskets; dynamic seals; compression packing; hydraulic components; expansion joints; and wall penetration products for chemical and petrochemical processing, pulp and paper processing, nuclear energy, hydrogen, natural gas, food and biopharmaceutical processing, primary metal manufacturing, mining, water and waste treatment, commercial vehicle, aerospace, medical, filtration, and semiconductor fabrication industries.