NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NL Industries (NYSE:NL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

NL Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NL opened at $7.91 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.75. NL Industries has a 12 month low of $5.20 and a 12 month high of $9.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.39 million, a P/E ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.36.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $40.30 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 38.69%.

NL Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NL Industries

In other news, Director Kevin B. Kramer bought 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.59 per share, with a total value of $42,835.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,616.50. The trade was a 228.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NL Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NL. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 15.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 27,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 3,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 56,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

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.