Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $55.23 and last traded at $55.15, with a volume of 5579 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWPX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 downgraded shares of Northwest Pipe from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Pipe from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northwest Pipe has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Northwest Pipe Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.45. The company has a market cap of $558.40 million, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.98.

Insider Activity at Northwest Pipe

In other Northwest Pipe news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.37, for a total value of $42,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,418.25. The trade was a 8.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Miles Brittain sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $188,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,083,450.20. The trade was a 14.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,800 shares of company stock valued at $291,070. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Pipe

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Northwest Pipe by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 506,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,552,000 after acquiring an additional 8,924 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Pipe by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 223,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,076,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Northwest Pipe by 0.8% during the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 175,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,977,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 valued at $4,274,000 after buying an additional 26,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Northwest Pipe by 4.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 56,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the period. 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.