NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Stock Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $6.31 and traded as low as $5.52. NL Industries shares last traded at $5.6850, with a volume of 15,733 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of NL Industries in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut NL Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

NL Industries Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.31. The company has a market capitalization of $277.77 million, a PE ratio of 28.43 and a beta of 0.28.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $40.00 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a return on equity of 2.36% and a net margin of 6.10%.

NL Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 180.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NL. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in NL Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 27,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 3,667 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 168,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 6,032 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of NL Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NL Industries by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 202,513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 9,952 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

About NL Industries

NL Industries, Inc, through its subsidiary, CompX International Inc, operates in the component products industry in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms, including disc tumbler locks; pin tumbler locking mechanisms under KeSet, System 64, TuBar, and Turbine brands; and electronic locks under CompX eLock and StealthLock brands for use in various applications, such as mailboxes, ignition systems, file cabinets, desk drawers, tool storage cabinets, high security medical cabinetry, integrated inventory and access control secured narcotics boxes, electronic circuit panels, storage compartments, gas station security, vending and cash containment machines.