Short Interest in DNOW Inc. (NYSE:DNOW) Rises By 17.3%

DNOW Inc. (NYSE:DNOW) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,180,000 shares, an increase of 17.3% from the February 13th total of 2,710,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 980,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

DNOW Stock Performance

DNOW stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $16.11. The company had a trading volume of 464,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,294. DNOW has a 12-month low of $11.42 and a 12-month high of $18.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 1.51.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 9.04%. As a group, research analysts expect that DNOW will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

DNOW announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $160.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DNOW

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of DNOW by 15.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 277,298 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,951,000 after buying an additional 37,178 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of DNOW by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of DNOW by 186.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 51,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,520 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of DNOW by 1.9% during the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,622,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,908,000 after purchasing an additional 48,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in DNOW by 3.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,731,485 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,388,000 after purchasing an additional 54,660 shares in the last quarter. 97.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DNOW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of DNOW from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

DNOW Company Profile

DNOW Inc distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items.