NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Short Interest Update

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 89,200 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the August 31st total of 105,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 38,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays lifted their price objective on NL Industries from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in NL Industries by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management acquired a new position in NL Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $107,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in NL Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $112,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in NL Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NL Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $139,000. 10.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NL Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NL Industries stock opened at $7.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $360.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.94. NL Industries has a one year low of $4.46 and a one year high of $8.93.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NL Industries had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $35.90 million during the quarter.

NL Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

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.