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

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 170,628 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the March 15th total of 134,662 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 44,468 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NL Industries to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NL Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Sell”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NL Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in NL Industries by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 5,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,667 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in NL Industries during the first quarter worth $35,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in NL Industries during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in NL Industries during the third quarter worth $126,000. Institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

NL Industries Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NL stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.86. 22,906 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,896. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.87. The stock has a market cap of $286.22 million, a PE ratio of -7.61 and a beta of 0.17. NL Industries has a 12 month low of $5.04 and a 12 month high of $9.27.

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

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. NL Industries’s payout ratio is -51.95%.

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.