Heartland Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX)

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 326,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 40,300 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 3.29% of Northwest Pipe worth $15,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Pipe during the third quarter worth about $944,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Pipe by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,544,000 after buying an additional 14,374 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Northwest Pipe by 272.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 9,514 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Northwest Pipe in the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Northwest Pipe during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Northwest Pipe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Sidoti raised Northwest Pipe to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their target price on Northwest Pipe from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Aaron Wilkins sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $44,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,467 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,548. The trade was a 4.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Northwest Pipe Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:NWPX traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.54. 17,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,000. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.70 million, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.34 and a 200 day moving average of $47.93. Northwest Pipe has a 12 month low of $31.16 and a 12 month high of $57.76.

Northwest Pipe Profile

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems.