Short Interest in Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) Decreases By 20.8%

Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a decrease of 20.8% from the July 15th total of 1,780,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 707,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NR. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Newpark Resources by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 14,241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Newpark Resources by 1.0% in the second quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 145,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Newpark Resources by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 21,466 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Newpark Resources by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 266,175 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,212,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Newpark Resources by 4.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Newpark Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NR traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $7.97. The stock had a trading volume of 431,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,356. The company has a market capitalization of $678.63 million, a P/E ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 2.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Newpark Resources has a 1-year low of $5.26 and a 1-year high of $8.65.

Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.04. Newpark Resources had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $179.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Newpark Resources will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Newpark Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Newpark Resources in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on Newpark Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Newpark Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

About Newpark Resources

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.