Short Interest in Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) Declines By 13.7%

Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, a drop of 13.7% from the August 31st total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 662,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NR shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Newpark Resources in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Newpark Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newpark Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NR. Ironwood Investment Management LLC increased its position in Newpark Resources by 1.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Newpark Resources by 15.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,423 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Newpark Resources by 1.1% during the second quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 266,175 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Newpark Resources by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 71,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 14,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Newpark Resources Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE NR opened at $6.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.67. Newpark Resources has a 12 month low of $5.61 and a 12 month high of $8.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $589.60 million, a PE ratio of 38.44 and a beta of 2.87.

Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.04. Newpark Resources had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $179.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Newpark Resources will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

About Newpark Resources

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.