Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) Short Interest Down 20.8% in July

Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) saw a significant decrease in short interest in 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 shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 707,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Newpark Resources Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Newpark Resources stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 431,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,356. Newpark Resources has a 52 week low of $5.26 and a 52 week high of $8.65. The company has a market capitalization of $678.63 million, a PE ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 2.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Newpark Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NR. Ironwood Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Newpark Resources by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Newpark Resources by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,423 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Newpark Resources by 1.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Newpark Resources by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 71,073 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Newpark Resources by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 74,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 14,466 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Newpark Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Newpark Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Newpark Resources in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.