NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

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

Insider Activity at NL Industries

In other NL Industries news, Director Kevin B. Kramer bought 6,500 shares of NL Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.59 per share, for a total transaction of $42,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,350 shares in the company, valued at $61,616.50. This represents a 228.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NL Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 21,876 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NL Industries by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 426,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,315,000 after buying an additional 21,313 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in NL Industries by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 6,950 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NL Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $1,622,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in NL Industries by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 189,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 3,924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

NL Industries Stock Down 5.8 %

NYSE:NL traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.41. The company had a trading volume of 11,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,480. The company has a market capitalization of $361.96 million, a PE ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.56. NL Industries has a 52-week low of $5.20 and a 52-week high of $9.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.64.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $38.40 million during the quarter. NL Industries had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 38.69%.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. This is a positive change from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. NL Industries’s payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

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.