Wall Street Zen Upgrades Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen in a recent research report.
• The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04, while revenue was reported at $21.51 million, exceeding expectations.
• In institutional trading, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake by 1,124.1% during the second quarter, highlighting significant investor interest in NTIC.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Northern Technologies International Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTIC traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $7.75. 9,314 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,803. Northern Technologies International has a 52-week low of $6.75 and a 52-week high of $15.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 million, a P/E ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.22.

Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.02). Northern Technologies International had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The firm had revenue of $21.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Northern Technologies International will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Technologies International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Northern Technologies International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTIC. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Northern Technologies International by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 62,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Northern Technologies International by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,089 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Technologies International by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 57,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Northern Technologies International during the 1st quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Technologies International by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,971 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the period. 32.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Technologies International Company Profile

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand.