StockNews.com Upgrades DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) to "Buy"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of DNOW (NYSE:DNOW - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on DNOW from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

DNOW Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE DNOW traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.15. 839,233 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,671. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.62. DNOW has a fifty-two week low of $11.42 and a fifty-two week high of $18.45. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 1.21.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 9.04%. Analysts forecast that DNOW will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DNOW declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $160.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DNOW

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in DNOW by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,091,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,212,000 after acquiring an additional 25,402 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of DNOW by 186.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 51,501 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,520 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of DNOW by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,560 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in DNOW by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,843,620 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $23,985,000 after buying an additional 112,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in DNOW by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,307,678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $82,063,000 after buying an additional 543,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.63% of the company's stock.

About DNOW

DNOW Inc distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items.