Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) Short Interest Up 24.3% in March

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 67,454 shares, an increase of 24.3% from the February 26th total of 54,269 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,605 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Valhi during the second quarter worth $31,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Valhi by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Valhi by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valhi in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Valhi by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 4,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Valhi Price Performance

Shares of Valhi stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.18. 12,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,448. The company has a market cap of $401.15 million, a PE ratio of -7.02 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.93. Valhi has a twelve month low of $11.44 and a twelve month high of $20.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported ($1.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($2.72). The business had revenue of $494.50 million during the quarter. Valhi had a negative return on equity of 3.20% and a negative net margin of 2.77%.

Valhi Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -15.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Valhi in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Valhi from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $12.00.

About Valhi

Valhi, Inc is a diversified holding company incorporated in Delaware in 1987 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its three wholly owned subsidiaries—Kronos Worldwide, CompX International and NL Industries—Valhi participates in the manufacture and distribution of chemical and security products for industrial, commercial and consumer markets.

Kronos Worldwide is a leading independent producer of titanium dioxide pigment, a white powder that enhances brightness and opacity in paints, coatings, plastics, paper and other applications.