Short Interest in NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Declines By 22.2%

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 87,700 shares, a decrease of 22.2% from the December 31st total of 112,700 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 30,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in NL Industries by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,964,169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,844,000 after buying an additional 23,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 185,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in NL Industries by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 162,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NL Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $670,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in NL Industries by 42.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 52,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

NL Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NL traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.69. 111,164 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,986. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.90 and its 200-day moving average is $7.36. NL Industries has a fifty-two week low of $5.00 and a fifty-two week high of $9.42. The company has a market cap of $375.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.54.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $33.60 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a net margin of 38.69% and a return on equity of 14.74%.

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.