NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 134,662 shares, an increase of 51.1% from the February 26th total of 89,133 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 64,324 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NL. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 5,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of NL Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NL Industries during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in NL Industries during the third quarter valued at $126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

NL Industries Price Performance

NYSE NL opened at $5.78 on Monday. NL Industries has a 1 year low of $5.04 and a 1 year high of $9.27. The company has a market capitalization of $282.41 million, a PE ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.07 and a 200 day moving average of $5.90.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The basic materials company reported ($0.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.81). The company had revenue of $37.70 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a negative return on equity of 9.43% and a negative net margin of 23.88%.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -51.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NL Industries to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NL Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NL Industries presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

NL Industries Company Profile

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.