Wall Street Zen Upgrades Valhi (NYSE:VHI) to “Strong-Buy”

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

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

Valhi Price Performance

Shares of Valhi stock opened at $16.24 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.76. The company has a market capitalization of $459.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 324.86 and a beta of 1.11.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $589.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $605.66 million. Valhi had a negative net margin of 2.36% and a negative return on equity of 2.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Valhi during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,055,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Valhi during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $148,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Valhi in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,776,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Valhi during the second quarter worth approximately $687,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Valhi in the 2nd quarter valued at about $321,000. 3.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valhi

Valhi, Inc is a diversified holding company with interests in chemicals, component products and other industrial businesses. Its operations are conducted primarily through majority-owned subsidiaries, including Kronos Worldwide, Inc, a global producer and marketer of titanium dioxide pigments used to provide whiteness, brightness and opacity in products such as coatings, plastics, paper and inks.

Through CompX International Inc, Valhi also participates in the component-products industry.