Short Interest in Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) Rises By 24.4%

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 151,000 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the January 15th total of 121,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 63,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NWPX. Northland Capmk downgraded shares of Northwest Pipe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northwest Pipe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Northwest Pipe from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Northwest Pipe Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Pipe stock traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.65. The stock had a trading volume of 49,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,677. The stock's 50 day moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day moving average is $47.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.53 million, a PE ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.05. Northwest Pipe has a twelve month low of $28.52 and a twelve month high of $57.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 190.5% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 15,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 9,939 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 35,297 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 48,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Pipe during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Pipe by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 116,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,636,000 after purchasing an additional 49,446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.63% of the company's stock.

About Northwest Pipe

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.