Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,821 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,532 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.27% of Northwest Pipe worth $4,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 175,945 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,977,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe by 120.2% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Pipe by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 56,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. 80.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NWPX shares. StockNews.com raised Northwest Pipe from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Northland Securities lifted their price target on Northwest Pipe from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Pipe

In other news, EVP Miles Brittain sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $188,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,083,450.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Miles Brittain sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $188,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,083,450.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.37, for a total transaction of $42,370.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $454,418.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Northwest Pipe Price Performance

NWPX stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.05. The stock had a trading volume of 38,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,910. The company's 50 day moving average price is $41.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.46. Northwest Pipe has a 1-year low of $25.67 and a 1-year high of $46.25. The stock has a market cap of $426.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 3.06.

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $129.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.76 million. Northwest Pipe had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 7.34%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Pipe will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.