NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of NL Industries (NYSE:NL) in a report released on Monday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NL Industries Price Performance

Shares of NL opened at $7.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $354.51 million, a P/E ratio of -181.45 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.66 and a 200 day moving average of $5.25. NL Industries has a one year low of $4.46 and a one year high of $7.34.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $43.20 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 1.43%.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. NL Industries’s payout ratio is -799.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NL Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NL. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its position in shares of NL Industries by 63.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 3,660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of NL Industries by 88.2% in the first quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of NL Industries by 128.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,904 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of NL Industries by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of NL Industries by 57.8% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 12,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 4,724 shares in the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.