NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Rating Increased to Sell at Wall Street Zen

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of NL Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, NL Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

NL Industries Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE NL opened at $6.20 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.98. NL Industries has a 12-month low of $5.04 and a 12-month high of $9.27. The firm has a market cap of $302.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NL Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NL Industries by 9.6% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 276,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,698,000 after buying an additional 24,132 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NL Industries by 5.2% in 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. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,032 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of NL Industries by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 93,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 38,640 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NL Industries by 179.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 33,077 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,223 shares in the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NL Industries

NL Industries, Inc is a U.S.-based industrial minerals company whose primary focus is the mining, upgrading and marketing of titanium feedstocks. The company’s products include synthetic rutile and chloride slag, which serve as key raw materials for producers of titanium dioxide pigment. These pigments are widely used as whitening and opacifying agents in coatings, plastics, paper and specialty applications.

NL Industries serves a global customer base, supplying feedstocks under long-term agreements and through spot transactions.