NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Short Interest Down 17.4% in December

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 97,120 shares, a drop of 17.4% from the December 15th total of 117,525 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 35,316 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 35,316 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NL. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of NL Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in NL Industries in the third quarter worth $126,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in NL Industries by 73.6% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 23,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 9,984 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in NL Industries during the second quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 15.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 27,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

NL Industries Stock Performance

NL opened at $5.98 on Monday. NL Industries has a fifty-two week low of $5.04 and a fifty-two week high of $9.27. The stock has a market cap of $292.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.64 and its 200 day moving average is $6.02.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.34). NL Industries had a return on equity of 2.36% and a net margin of 6.10%.The business had revenue of $40.00 million for the quarter.

NL Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 180.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of NL Industries in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NL Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

NL Industries Company Profile

NL Industries, Inc is a U.S.-based industrial minerals company whose primary focus is the mining, upgrading and marketing of titanium feedstocks. The company’s products include synthetic rutile and chloride slag, which serve as key raw materials for producers of titanium dioxide pigment. These pigments are widely used as whitening and opacifying agents in coatings, plastics, paper and specialty applications.

NL Industries serves a global customer base, supplying feedstocks under long-term agreements and through spot transactions.