Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $4.04 Million Stock Holdings in Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR - Free Report) by 53.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 608,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 212,872 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.71% of Newpark Resources worth $4,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in Newpark Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Newpark Resources by 374.4% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 13,410 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 10,583 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Newpark Resources by 252.0% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Newpark Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Newpark Resources by 66.8% in the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,051 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NR shares. TheStreet cut Newpark Resources from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut Newpark Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Newpark Resources in a research report on Friday, March 8th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Newpark Resources in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm started coverage on Newpark Resources in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Newpark Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Newpark Resources Stock Performance

NR stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.36. The stock had a trading volume of 588,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,066. The firm has a market capitalization of $627.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00 and a beta of 2.75. Newpark Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.40 and a 52 week high of $7.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $167.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.87 million. Newpark Resources had a return on equity of 6.53% and a net margin of 1.94%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Newpark Resources, Inc. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

About Newpark Resources

Newpark Resources, Inc provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America.