Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.81 and traded as high as $15.02. Valhi shares last traded at $14.7950, with a volume of 32,930 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VHI. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Valhi in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valhi to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $12.00.

Valhi Trading Up 3.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $418.70 million, a P/E ratio of 23.12 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.70.

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

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 issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valhi

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Valhi in the 3rd quarter worth $228,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Valhi by 79.9% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Valhi by 133.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Valhi by 1.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valhi by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. 3.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.