NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL)’s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.97 and traded as low as $5.68. NL Industries shares last traded at $5.70, with a volume of 178,433 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NL. Wall Street Zen upgraded NL Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded NL Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NL Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

NL Industries Trading Down 6.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $278.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.26 and a beta of 0.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.97.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.14). NL Industries had a negative net margin of 21.56% and a negative return on equity of 8.74%. The firm had revenue of $40.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.57 million.

NL Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -57.97%.

Institutional Trading of NL Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of NL Industries in the second quarter worth about $158,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in NL Industries by 179.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 33,077 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,223 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in NL Industries by 15.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 27,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of NL Industries by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 232,131 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 23,029 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NL Industries by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 202,513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 9,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

About NL Industries

NL Industries, Inc is a U.S.-based industrial minerals company whose primary focus is the mining, upgrading and marketing of titanium feedstocks. The company’s products include synthetic rutile and chloride slag, which serve as key raw materials for producers of titanium dioxide pigment. These pigments are widely used as whitening and opacifying agents in coatings, plastics, paper and specialty applications.

NL Industries serves a global customer base, supplying feedstocks under long-term agreements and through spot transactions.