Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded shares of Northern Technologies International from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Northern Technologies International Stock Performance

Shares of NTIC opened at $13.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.53 and its 200 day moving average is $12.58. Northern Technologies International has a fifty-two week low of $10.08 and a fifty-two week high of $14.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.83 million, a PE ratio of 30.57 and a beta of 0.71.

Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.08). Northern Technologies International had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 5.30%. The business had revenue of $20.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northern Technologies International will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Technologies International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Northern Technologies International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Northern Technologies International by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 432,959 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Technologies International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 340,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Technologies International by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 260,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,063,000 after purchasing an additional 86,952 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Northern Technologies International in the third quarter worth about $2,911,000. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Technologies International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 214,713 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 32.88% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Technologies International

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand.