Short Interest in NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX) Grows By 79.5%

Key Points

• Short interest in NWPX Infrastructure surged 79.5% in April, rising to 239,594 shares, or about 2.6% of the company’s float. The current days-to-cover ratio is 1.3 days based on average trading volume.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.00. Recent actions included upgrades from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings, while Zacks Research downgraded the shares to Hold.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.08 versus expectations of $0.68 and revenue of $138.25 million versus the $125.10 million estimate. Shares also traded near their 52-week high at $110.80, reflecting strong recent price performance.

NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 239,594 shares, an increase of 79.5% from the April 15th total of 133,446 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 182,415 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NWPX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of NWPX Infrastructure from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NWPX Infrastructure currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $90.00.

NWPX Infrastructure Price Performance

Shares of NWPX opened at $110.80 on Monday. NWPX Infrastructure has a fifty-two week low of $37.99 and a fifty-two week high of $114.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $85.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.06.

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.40. NWPX Infrastructure had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $138.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.10 million. On average, research analysts forecast that NWPX Infrastructure will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NWPX Infrastructure

In other news, Director Amanda Julian sold 3,473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $249,986.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,815.66. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Miles Brittain sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $284,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,959.06. This represents a 14.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,273 shares of company stock valued at $1,490,019. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NWPX Infrastructure

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,372,000 after purchasing an additional 16,434 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NWPX Infrastructure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 166.9% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 69,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,673,000 after purchasing an additional 43,398 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NWPX Infrastructure in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 537,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,433,000 after purchasing an additional 35,768 shares during the last quarter. 80.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NWPX Infrastructure

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. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications.

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