Insider Buying: NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Director Purchases 6,500 Shares of Stock

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Director Kevin B. Kramer purchased 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.59 per share, with a total value of $42,835.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,616.50. This trade represents a 228.07 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

NL Industries Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE NL traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.07. 42,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,510. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.37 and a 200 day moving average of $7.52. NL Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.20 and a 1 year high of $9.42. The stock has a market cap of $345.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.56.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.13. NL Industries had a net margin of 38.69% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $38.40 million during the quarter.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. This is an increase from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NL Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NL. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of NL Industries by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in NL Industries by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NL Industries by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 185,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered NL Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

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.