Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Decreases Holdings in North American Construction Group Ltd. (NYSE:NOA)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. decreased its position in North American Construction Group Ltd. (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,022,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 687,767 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned 3.68% of North American Construction Group worth $22,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOA. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in North American Construction Group in the fourth quarter worth about $8,134,000. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd lifted its stake in North American Construction Group by 619.2% in the fourth quarter. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd now owns 418,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,045,000 after acquiring an additional 360,370 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in North American Construction Group by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,333,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,776,000 after purchasing an additional 156,691 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of North American Construction Group by 562.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 150,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 127,971 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 427,153 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,194,000 after purchasing an additional 101,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.99% of the company’s stock.

North American Construction Group Price Performance

NOA opened at $16.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.35. North American Construction Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $13.19 and a 1 year high of $22.08. The company has a market capitalization of $516.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.32.

North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.18). North American Construction Group had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 26.00%. As a group, analysts anticipate that North American Construction Group Ltd. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

North American Construction Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.084 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. North American Construction Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NOA. Raymond James lowered North American Construction Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut North American Construction Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

About North American Construction Group

North American Construction Group Ltd. provides mining and heavy civil construction services to customers in the resource development and industrial construction sectors in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The company operates Heavy Equipment – Canada, Heavy Equipment – Australia, and Other segments.