NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 87,700 shares, a drop of 22.2% from the December 31st total of 112,700 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 30,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

NL Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NL traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 111,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,986. NL Industries has a fifty-two week low of $5.00 and a fifty-two week high of $9.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.54.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $33.60 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 38.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NL Industries during the fourth quarter worth $670,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of NL Industries by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 162,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 6,950 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 29,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 7,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of NL Industries by 112.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 11,815 shares in the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.