Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valhi (NYSE:VHI) to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Valhi in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $12.00.

Valhi Stock Performance

Shares of VHI stock opened at $14.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Valhi has a 52 week low of $11.44 and a 52 week high of $25.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.76 million, a PE ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.85.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $503.50 million for the quarter. Valhi had a return on equity of 2.22% and a net margin of 0.89%.

Valhi Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VHI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Valhi during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valhi by 3.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valhi by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Valhi by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 3,341 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Valhi Company Profile

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.