Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in NPK International Inc. $NPKI

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) by 95.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,976 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,992 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of NPK International worth $905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in NPK International during the second quarter worth $51,903,000. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in NPK International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,341,000. Conversant Capital LLC acquired a new position in NPK International in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,103,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NPK International during the 2nd quarter worth $22,351,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in NPK International during the second quarter worth about $19,874,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NPKI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered NPK International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on NPK International from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NPK International in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NPK International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.17.

NPK International Stock Up 0.3%

NPKI opened at $14.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.32 and a beta of 1.29. NPK International Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.76 and a 12 month high of $15.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

NPK International Company Profile

NPK International, Inc (NYSE: NPKI) is a specialty chemical distributor supplying a broad range of industrial and performance materials across diverse end-markets. Its product portfolio includes acetic acid and derivatives, alcohols, ketones, esters, glycol ethers, glycols, specialty solvents, select inorganic chemicals and crop-protection intermediates. These materials serve industries such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, oil and gas, personal care, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and water treatment.

The company places a strong emphasis on supply-chain security and technical service, maintaining warehousing, logistics support and laboratory capabilities at its regional distribution centers.