StockNews.com Upgrades Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) to Buy

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on NWPX. Northland Capmk downgraded shares of Northwest Pipe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities cut shares of Northwest Pipe from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Northwest Pipe Price Performance

NWPX stock opened at $49.27 on Thursday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.10. Northwest Pipe has a 12-month low of $27.89 and a 12-month high of $57.76. The firm has a market cap of $488.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Pipe

In related news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Pipe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Northwest Pipe by 1,857.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Northwest Pipe during the third quarter valued at $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Pipe in the third quarter valued at $165,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Pipe in the third quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Pipe during the 3rd quarter valued at $262,000. 80.63% of the stock is 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.