Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) Short Interest Down 22.6% in November

Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the October 31st total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 672,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newpark Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NR. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Newpark Resources by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,274,460 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,762,000 after purchasing an additional 69,802 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Newpark Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,191,552 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,187,000 after buying an additional 61,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Newpark Resources by 8.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,940,915 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,454,000 after buying an additional 154,210 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Newpark Resources by 19.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,891,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,720,000 after buying an additional 313,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pennant Select LLC lifted its position in shares of Newpark Resources by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pennant Select LLC now owns 990,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,861,000 after acquiring an additional 390,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Newpark Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NR stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.36. The stock had a trading volume of 424,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,327. Newpark Resources has a fifty-two week low of $5.61 and a fifty-two week high of $8.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.63. The firm has a market cap of $723.11 million, a PE ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 2.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on NR. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Newpark Resources in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Newpark Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

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.