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

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

DNOW Price Performance

Shares of DNOW stock opened at $16.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.12 and its 200 day moving average is $13.89. DNOW has a one year low of $11.42 and a one year high of $18.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 1.51.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 9.04%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that DNOW will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DNOW announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $160.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DNOW

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DNOW. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of DNOW by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 100,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in DNOW by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in DNOW by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 17,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of DNOW by 45.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of DNOW by 0.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 216,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DNOW. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of DNOW from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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.