Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) saw strong trading volume on Monday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. 102,936 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 94,729 shares.The stock last traded at $50.77 and had previously closed at $47.05.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on NWPX. Northland Capmk cut shares of Northwest Pipe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Northwest Pipe from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.50.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Pipe

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 shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $44,220.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,039.50. This trade represents a 9.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Pipe

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWPX. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 223,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Northwest Pipe by 26.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 125,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 26,532 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,544,000 after buying an additional 14,374 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 53,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 53,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Pipe Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $484.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.08 and its 200-day moving average is $44.51.

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.