Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Newpark Resources in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Newpark Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NR opened at $7.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.65. Newpark Resources has a 12 month low of $5.61 and a 12 month high of $8.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $636.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.53 and a beta of 2.87.

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

Institutional Trading of Newpark Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Newpark Resources by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,153,464 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,859,000 after purchasing an additional 303,236 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Newpark Resources by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,891,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,720,000 after buying an additional 313,451 shares during the period. Yarra Square Partners LP lifted its stake in Newpark Resources by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Yarra Square Partners LP now owns 814,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,406,000 after acquiring an additional 266,000 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Newpark Resources by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 653,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,426,000 after acquiring an additional 15,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Newpark Resources by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 71,073 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Newpark Resources Company Profile

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.