Short Interest in Enpro Inc. (NYSE:NPO) Expands By 23.6%

Enpro Inc. (NYSE:NPO) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 116,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Enpro Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NPO stock traded down $1.91 on Tuesday, hitting $159.88. 118,918 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,360. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.06. Enpro has a one year low of $136.68 and a one year high of $214.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Enpro (NYSE:NPO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.10. Enpro had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 6.95%. The firm had revenue of $258.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Enpro will post 7.38 EPS for the current year.

Enpro Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Enpro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Enpro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NPO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Enpro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Enpro from $180.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Transactions at Enpro

In other Enpro news, CAO Steven R. Bower sold 997 shares of Enpro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.66, for a total transaction of $199,061.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enpro

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Enpro during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Enpro during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Enpro during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Enpro by 786.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Enpro by 386.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.31% of the company’s stock.

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.