Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes Position in NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. $NWPX

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWPX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 140,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,992,000. NWPX Infrastructure comprises 0.9% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in NWPX Infrastructure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in NWPX Infrastructure by 193.9% during the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in NWPX Infrastructure during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NWPX Infrastructure during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

NWPX Infrastructure Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NWPX opened at $110.08 on Friday. NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.25 and a twelve month high of $152.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.01.

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $159.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.70 million. NWPX Infrastructure had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 12.22%. On average, research analysts predict that NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott J. Montross sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,129 shares in the company, valued at $9,039,557.46. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Aaron Wilkins sold 428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $51,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,107,760. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,410. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWPX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on NWPX Infrastructure in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut NWPX Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NWPX Infrastructure in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded NWPX Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.00.

NWPX Infrastructure 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.