Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, Northland Securities downgraded shares of Northwest Pipe from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Northwest Pipe Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Pipe stock opened at $48.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $478.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.40. Northwest Pipe has a 52 week low of $25.67 and a 52 week high of $48.32.

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. Northwest Pipe had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 6.12%. The company had revenue of $129.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.76 million. As a group, analysts expect that Northwest Pipe will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Pipe news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $44,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,725 shares in the company, valued at $430,039.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Northwest Pipe news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of Northwest Pipe stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $44,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,039.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Miles Brittain sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $188,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,083,450.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock worth $275,140. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Pipe

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Pipe by 1,857.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Northwest Pipe during the first quarter worth $95,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Northwest Pipe by 120.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Pipe in the third quarter valued at $165,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Pipe in the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. 80.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.