Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Position in Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Free Report) by 198.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.32% of Northwest Pipe worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northwest Pipe by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 224,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,814,000 after buying an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Pipe by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 217,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,496,000 after acquiring an additional 57,398 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,278 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Pipe by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 72,061 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 15,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Northwest Pipe by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northwest Pipe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Northwest Pipe from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Sidoti upgraded shares of Northwest Pipe to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Northwest Pipe Stock Performance

Shares of NWPX stock traded down $2.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,423. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $398.59 million, a PE ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.09 and a 200-day moving average of $47.46. Northwest Pipe has a 52 week low of $31.50 and a 52 week high of $57.76.

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $116.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.92 million. Northwest Pipe had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 8.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northwest Pipe will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Pipe

In related news, CFO Aaron Wilkins sold 1,000 shares of Northwest Pipe stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $44,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,032,548. The trade was a 4.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

About Northwest Pipe

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems.