Short Interest in NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Grows By 21.8%

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 90,900 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the February 28th total of 74,600 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

NL Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NL stock traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, reaching $7.74. 6,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,573. NL Industries has a 1 year low of $5.20 and a 1 year high of $9.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.64. The company has a market cap of $378.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.56.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.13. NL Industries had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $38.40 million for the quarter.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This is an increase from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of NL Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at NL Industries

In other NL Industries news, Director Kevin B. Kramer acquired 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.59 per share, with a total value of $42,835.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,616.50. This trade represents a 228.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of NL Industries by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in NL Industries by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 6,950 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of NL Industries by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,006,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,594,000 after acquiring an additional 21,876 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of NL Industries by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in NL Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $1,622,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

NL Industries Company Profile

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.