Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stake in DNOW Inc. (NYSE:DNOW)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in DNOW Inc. (NYSE:DNOW) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,831 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in DNOW were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of DNOW by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of DNOW by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of DNOW during the 3rd quarter worth $187,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of DNOW during the 3rd quarter worth $214,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of DNOW by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,541 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. 97.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

DNOW Price Performance

Shares of DNOW stock opened at $15.08 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.51 and a 200 day moving average of $13.67. DNOW Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.42 and a 12 month high of $18.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.53.

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.14. DNOW had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 3.41%. Equities research analysts anticipate that DNOW Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

DNOW declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $160.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DNOW. StockNews.com upgraded DNOW from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on DNOW from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

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.