Enpro Inc. (NYSE:NPO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Enpro Inc. (NYSE:NPO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 582,600 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the February 28th total of 471,200 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 116,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Enpro Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NPO traded up $5.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $165.36. 118,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,005. Enpro has a 12 month low of $136.68 and a 12 month high of $214.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $181.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.79 and a beta of 1.52.

Enpro (NYSE:NPO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.10. Enpro had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of $258.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Enpro’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Enpro will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enpro Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Enpro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Enpro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enpro

In other Enpro news, CAO Steven R. Bower sold 997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.66, for a total value of $199,061.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enpro

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Enpro by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,241,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,385,000 after purchasing an additional 11,643 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Enpro by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 964,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $166,323,000 after acquiring an additional 60,998 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enpro by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,947,000 after purchasing an additional 36,501 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Enpro by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 807,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,972,000 after acquiring an additional 9,127 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Enpro by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 717,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,725,000 after acquiring an additional 7,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on NPO shares. StockNews.com lowered Enpro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Enpro from $180.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Enpro from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th.

About Enpro

Enpro Inc design, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary, value-added products and solutions to safeguard critical environments in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Sealing Technologies and Advanced Surface Technologies. The Sealing Technologies segment offers single-use hygienic seals, tubing, components and assemblies; metallic, non-metallic, and composite material gaskets; dynamic seals; compression packing; hydraulic components; expansion joints; and wall penetration products for chemical and petrochemical processing, pulp and paper processing, nuclear energy, hydrogen, natural gas, food and biopharmaceutical processing, primary metal manufacturing, mining, water and waste treatment, commercial vehicle, aerospace, medical, filtration, and semiconductor fabrication industries.