NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX) Short Interest Update

NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 239,594 shares, an increase of 79.5% from the April 15th total of 133,446 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 182,415 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at NWPX Infrastructure

In other NWPX Infrastructure news, EVP Miles Brittain sold 3,300 shares of NWPX Infrastructure stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.89, for a total value of $233,937.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,418,225.34. The trade was a 14.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 4,500 shares of NWPX Infrastructure stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $362,655.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,807.64. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,273 shares of company stock worth $1,490,019 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NWPX Infrastructure

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in NWPX Infrastructure by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 4,162 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in NWPX Infrastructure in the first quarter valued at $201,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in NWPX Infrastructure by 67.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in NWPX Infrastructure by 21.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 84,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,585,000 after buying an additional 14,870 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in NWPX Infrastructure in the first quarter valued at $3,339,000. 80.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NWPX Infrastructure Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NWPX Infrastructure stock opened at $111.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.01 and its 200 day moving average is $72.74. NWPX Infrastructure has a 1 year low of $37.99 and a 1 year high of $114.27.

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $138.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.10 million. NWPX Infrastructure had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 10.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that NWPX Infrastructure will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of NWPX Infrastructure from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NWPX Infrastructure from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

NWPX Infrastructure 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. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications.