DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

DNOW Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:DNOW opened at $17.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.53. DNOW has a twelve month low of $11.42 and a twelve month high of $18.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.49.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 9.04%. As a group, analysts expect that DNOW will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DNOW announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $160.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul M. Coppinger sold 26,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.35, for a total value of $401,955.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $868,318.80. This represents a 31.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of DNOW

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DNOW. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in DNOW by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,307,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $82,063,000 after buying an additional 543,403 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC boosted its holdings in DNOW by 138.7% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 579,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after buying an additional 336,474 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in DNOW by 832.0% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 365,795 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,730,000 after buying an additional 326,547 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in DNOW by 145.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 520,695 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,774,000 after buying an additional 308,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in DNOW during the fourth quarter worth $3,903,000. 97.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

DNOW Company Profile

DNOW Inc distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items.