Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in ChampionX Co. (NASDAQ:CHX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in ChampionX Co. (NASDAQ:CHX) by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 416,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 289,524 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.22% of ChampionX worth $13,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHX. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of ChampionX by 442.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of ChampionX during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in ChampionX by 63.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in ChampionX by 18.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ChampionX during the second quarter valued at $194,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deric D. Bryant sold 49,303 shares of ChampionX stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total value of $1,482,048.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 337,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,142,514.54. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of ChampionX from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

ChampionX Stock Performance

ChampionX stock opened at $25.79 on Friday. ChampionX Co. has a twelve month low of $25.46 and a twelve month high of $39.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 2.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day moving average is $30.99.

ChampionX (NASDAQ:CHX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $906.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $916.50 million. ChampionX had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 19.74%. ChampionX’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ChampionX Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ChampionX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.095 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $0.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. ChampionX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.60%.

ChampionX Profile

ChampionX Corporation provides chemistry solutions, artificial lift systems, and engineered equipment and technologies to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production Chemical Technologies, Production & Automation Technologies, Drilling Technologies, and Reservoir Chemical Technologies.