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

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Approximately 102,936 shares changed hands during 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.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on NWPX. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Northwest Pipe from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Northland Capmk lowered Northwest Pipe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Pipe news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of Northwest Pipe stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $44,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,039.50. The trade was a 9.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Pipe

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWPX. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Pipe during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $944,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,718 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 26,532 shares in the last quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Pipe during the 2nd quarter worth about $743,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Pipe by 272.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 9,514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Pipe Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $463.81 million, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company 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 quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.20.

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.