Empowered Funds LLC Buys Shares of 140,076 Valhi, Inc. $VHI

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 140,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,055,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VHI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valhi in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Valhi by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Valhi by 133.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Valhi during the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Valhi by 145.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 4,146 shares during the period. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valhi from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Valhi Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VHI opened at $18.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 3.37. The company has a market cap of $512.03 million, a PE ratio of -10.10 and a beta of 1.03. Valhi, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.44 and a 52 week high of $19.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.46.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.18). Valhi had a negative return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 2.36%.The business had revenue of $606.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.10 million.

Valhi Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.88%.

About Valhi

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.