StockNews.com Downgrades DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) to Hold

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

DNOW Trading Down 0.2 %

DNOW stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,548,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,348. DNOW has a 52 week low of $11.42 and a 52 week high of $18.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.53.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 3.41%. Analysts predict that DNOW will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

DNOW declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $160.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul M. Coppinger sold 26,186 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.35, for a total value of $401,955.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $868,318.80. This represents a 31.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DNOW

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of DNOW by 15.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 277,298 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 37,178 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of DNOW by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,560 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of DNOW by 1.9% in the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,622,426 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,908,000 after acquiring an additional 48,900 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of DNOW by 3.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,731,485 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $22,388,000 after acquiring an additional 54,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of DNOW by 10.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 612,638 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,921,000 after acquiring an additional 56,787 shares during the last quarter. 97.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About DNOW

DNOW Inc distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items.