Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 880,600 shares, a growth of 34.1% from the March 31st total of 656,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 621,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NR has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet cut shares of Newpark Resources from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Newpark Resources in a report on Friday, March 8th. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Newpark Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Newpark Resources in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Newpark Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.75.

Newpark Resources Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE NR traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.94. The company had a trading volume of 376,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 651,125. Newpark Resources has a one year low of $3.40 and a one year high of $7.84. The company has a market cap of $591.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28 and a beta of 2.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.09 and its 200-day moving average is $6.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $167.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.87 million. Newpark Resources had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 6.53%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Newpark Resources will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newpark Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NR. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its position in Newpark Resources by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 75,254 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares during the period. Kure Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Newpark Resources by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Kure Advisory LLC now owns 20,204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Newpark Resources by 495.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 3,775 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Newpark Resources by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 317,935 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Newpark Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Newpark Resources Company Profile

Newpark Resources, Inc provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America.