Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valhi (NYSE:VHI) to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Valhi from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valhi presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Valhi Stock Up 1.5%

VHI stock opened at $16.80 on Friday. Valhi has a 52 week low of $11.44 and a 52 week high of $19.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $475.92 million, a P/E ratio of -9.39 and a beta of 1.03.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.18). Valhi had a negative net margin of 2.36% and a negative return on equity of 2.77%. The company had revenue of $606.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.10 million.

Valhi Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.88%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Valhi during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $148,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Valhi in the second quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Valhi in the second quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Valhi during the second quarter worth approximately $2,055,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Valhi during the second quarter worth approximately $2,776,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

About Valhi

Valhi, Inc is a diversified holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its principal businesses operate through subsidiaries in the chemicals, component products and real estate sectors. Valhi is affiliated with Contran Corporation, a holding company with long-standing ownership interests in Valhi and other industrial businesses.

Through Kronos Worldwide, Inc, Valhi participates in the manufacture and sale of titanium dioxide pigments, which are used to provide whiteness and opacity in paints, coatings, plastics, paper and other products.