Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires New Position in NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc. $NSSC

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSSC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 103,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,456,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in NAPCO Security Technologies during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of NAPCO Security Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of NAPCO Security Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of NAPCO Security Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NAPCO Security Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $91,000. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSSC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of NAPCO Security Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of NAPCO Security Technologies in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of NAPCO Security Technologies in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NAPCO Security Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.83.

Insider Activity at NAPCO Security Technologies

In other news, CEO Richard Soloway sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total transaction of $6,411,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,256,010 shares in the company, valued at $53,681,867.40. The trade was a 10.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NAPCO Security Technologies Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NAPCO Security Technologies stock opened at $42.57 on Monday. NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.00 and a 12-month high of $48.12. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.01 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.94.

NAPCO Security Technologies (NASDAQ:NSSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $48.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.82 million. NAPCO Security Technologies had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 27.45%. NAPCO Security Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

NAPCO Security Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This is a positive change from NAPCO Security Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. NAPCO Security Technologies’s payout ratio is 45.11%.

About NAPCO Security Technologies

NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: NSSC) is a designer and manufacturer of electronic security solutions for commercial and residential applications. The company’s product portfolio spans intrusion and fire alarm control panels, alarm communicators, access control locks and readers, as well as a broad range of peripheral modules and integrated security accessories. NAPCO’s offerings are engineered to deliver scalable, networked security systems suitable for new installations and retrofit projects alike.

Key product lines include hybrid alarm control panels that support both wired and wireless peripherals, cellular and IP alarm communicators for reliable central station reporting, and the acclaimed “Alarm Lock” series of standalone and networked electronic door locks.