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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Newpark Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NR. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Newpark Resources by 26.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 131,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 27,810 shares during the period. Kure Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Newpark Resources in the third quarter valued at $116,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 4,105 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Newpark Resources in the third quarter valued at $180,000. Finally, Roubaix Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Newpark Resources by 11.8% in the third quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC now owns 575,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,979,000 after buying an additional 60,966 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Newpark Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NR opened at $7.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $619.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.44 and a beta of 2.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.86. Newpark Resources has a 1 year low of $3.40 and a 1 year high of $7.84.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.