NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Short Interest Down 16.9% in November

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 82,500 shares, a decrease of 16.9% from the October 31st total of 99,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 27,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barclays upped their target price on shares of NL Industries from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

NL Industries Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NL opened at $7.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.97. The company has a market capitalization of $388.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.51. NL Industries has a 52-week low of $4.46 and a 52-week high of $8.93.

NL Industries Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. NL Industries’s payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,964,169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,844,000 after acquiring an additional 23,574 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 59.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 59,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 22,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NL Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $130,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 1,454.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 21,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heron Bay Capital Management raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 138.6% during the second quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 34,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 20,196 shares during the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.