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

Shares of Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. 102,936 shares traded hands 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.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports 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 raised their price objective on Northwest Pipe from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

Insider Activity at Northwest Pipe

In other news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 9.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Pipe

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $10,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Pipe by 26.7% in the 2nd 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. raised 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 valued at $2,544,000 after buying an additional 14,374 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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. grew its position in Northwest Pipe by 7.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 53,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718 shares in the last quarter. 80.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Pipe Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $463.81 million, a PE ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 2.27.

Northwest Pipe Company Profile

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.