North American Construction Group Ltd. (NYSE:NOA) Short Interest Up 79.1% in April

North American Construction Group Ltd. (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 359,248 shares, an increase of 79.1% from the April 15th total of 200,569 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 126,652 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOA. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in North American Construction Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $476,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of North American Construction Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $122,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 80.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 326,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,214,000 after acquiring an additional 145,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares in the last quarter. 74.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded North American Construction Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded North American Construction Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded North American Construction Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.50 price objective on shares of North American Construction Group in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, North American Construction Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.75.

North American Construction Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NOA opened at $15.32 on Monday. North American Construction Group has a 12-month low of $12.07 and a 12-month high of $18.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $435.18 million, a PE ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.31 and a 200 day moving average of $14.67.

North American Construction Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. North American Construction Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.30%.

About North American Construction Group

North American Construction Group Ltd (NYSE: NOA) is a Canadian industrial company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, that specializes in providing integrated heavy construction equipment solutions. Through its two core segments—Sales and Rentals—the company offers a comprehensive portfolio of new and used off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, dozers and motor graders, along with aftermarket parts and maintenance services.

In its Sales division, North American Construction Group partners with leading global equipment manufacturers to distribute and support a broad range of heavy machinery across multiple industries.